Red Light Deux
by Nature9000
Summary: Escaping the red light district, Sam Puckett is granted an opportunity at an internship to counsel women who have and are struggling with that same life. She meets Trina Vega, whose experiences mirror her own and soon she becomes determined to help her before it's too late. But can she convince Trina to see and accept her help, or will the girl fade away and become truly lost?
1. The First Client

Red Light Deux

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N FIRST: This does discuss a mature subject, so if you cannot handle a story with an adult mindset, turn away now. If you can, then read on.

A/N: This is, in a way a continuation of an old story "Red Light". You don't have to _know_ or even follow "Red Light" to get this. I'll have momentary flashbacks where important. I want to do it in Sam's perspective primarily because it'll be the counselor's perspective that will bring further intrigue, rather than Trina's perspective. Doing it in the client would make the story similar to the other. Do read.

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Chapter 1 (The First Client)

The familiar smell of smoke filled the twenty year old blonde's nostrils as she attempted to focus on the clacking sounds of her fingers striking the keyboard. Her eyes darted around the musty restaurant and her lungs swelled, filling up from some invisible penetrator.

Her first thought questioned why she had chosen to work on her paper in a crowded sports bar, which was one of the worst places for her to be after everything had been said and done. Yet it was also the one place she could find solace away from Cat. The innocent redhead would never come near one of these places.

The military had given Sam the one opportunity for a normal life, giving her training to be a counselor for people who had struggled with the life that she and Carly had fallen into. She was working on a paper she was entitling _Hausse de la Cendre_, which was French for 'Rise from the Ash', and was told as part of her internship she needed to find a client-someone that wanted help.

Unfortunately this meant she would have to frequent the familiar dark streets, the strip clubs, and various shady locations. From her own knowledge she knew well how to find a stripper, a prostitute, or even so much as a porn star. Many were in the business because they wanted to be, yes, but the great majority of them were like her or like Carly had been, and they had very little choice or opportunity to get out.

They'd been disowned by family, they'd been abused or with no way of escape. Maybe they got hooked on drugs, or were forced into the business, or were just simply sex addicts. Had it not been for Valerie's kindness, she may never have survived, and like so many she would have self-destructed when her family found out and pushed her out.

A piercing laugh jolted Sam from her thoughts and she threw her head up, lifting her hands ever so slightly above her keys. Her fingers curled inwards as her eyes danced on the drunken men at the bar, gawking at some woman sitting at the other end.

She trailed her gaze to the phone buzzing on her table. Cat was sending her text messages, asking where she was at even though she was busy. She pressed her lips together and turned the phone over with a heavy sigh.

There was a missed call and voicemail from her fiancé, Derek, still overseas. He left a voicemail to let her know he'd call the next day and see how her time was in LA. The reason for her move to Los Angeles was due to nobody knowing her here, unlike Seattle. Where her father had done all he could to try and get as much of her videos off the websites, the damage had still been done and few people wanted to give her opportunities in Seattle.

"Cleveland and Associates," Sam typed out the final line before getting ready to take a break. "My current place of internship on the military base. I am currently seeking out someone to extend services to, but have been unsuccessful thus far in my search. It is far easier to let them come to you than for you to impose services, but thus far I have not received any viable calls for the flyers I have been handing out."

With a heavy sigh, Sam closed down the laptop and began moving it to the case. She closed her eyes and leaned back, letting her mind drift back to Carly. Her best friend had moved with her husband Doug, and her son, to Italy for a shot at a new life. Carly often said she'd come back to the states one day, and Sam hoped for the best, but her friend had suffered far worse than she had and likely would not feel comfortable returning to the states for a long time.

"What the hell is Alice thinking?" Alice Cleveland was her instructor and her boss, a woman she very much admired and respected. However some of the things she suggested to Sam were a little on the unorthodox side, and as good as thinking out of the box was, it was hardly the best thing to do. "Yeah you have to make yourself available to help, but you can't force it. They have to want it." The only way she and Carly ever found help was because they wanted to get out of that life. It started out as a way to make money, then became an addiction, then a lifestyle they couldn't get away from until they hit rock bottom. It was her goal to help girls not to hit rock bottom.

The sad fact remained that most times it wasn't until a person crashed and hit the very bottom before they ever wanted to get out, and many times it would be too late.

"It's all too fresh." Sam packed up her things and grabbed her phone to call Cat. When the girl answered, she was speaking in a worried tone. "Relax Cat, you know I'm working."

"Why don't you ever work at home? I made dinner."

"I have to make myself available to clients." She hated to say it like that, for the memories that wound up stirring a violent sensation into her heart. It was hard for her to think of any better wording. What made it worse was that she didn't want to tell Cat for fear of the girl asking questions.

Namely, she still feared the judgmental attitude that came from people who just didn't understand. She knew her friend, if she learned of her past, would never call her a whore or a slut, but Cat would still look at her in an entirely new light.

"Why won't you tell me about your job, Sam? I don't know who Cleveland and Associates are, other than a counseling clinic on the base my brother goes to." Her elder brother was a good friend of Derek's, and the man had been responsible for being the first to offer Sam a chance.

Sam hung her laptop carrier case loosely at her legs and started for the door, glancing over her shoulders one last time at the girl sitting at the bar. Her stomach clenched as she visualized herself sitting in place of the woman. Broken, fragile, hurt. Her eyebrows meshed together and the corners of her lips sank as her heart began to pound. "Maybe one day I'll give you the full details."

"You don't trust me?"

"It isn't that, Cat. Some things are just…not something I can discuss for personal reasons." The television was playing beside the woman, it was set on Channel 6 News and was celebrating the newly appointed Police Chief-David Vega. His daughter was on stage, singing a song in his honor, and his wife was walking arm and arm with him. Sam tilted her head to the right and raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't your friend have a sister?"

"Tori? Yeah, but Trina's never around anymore. I mean it makes sense with how ignored she was the last few years."

"Ignored?"

"Yeah, she used to be favored I think. Tori always says how much their dad loved Trina growing up, but then Tori started to be the one everyone focused on. Trina faded away-I remember Jade always told her that nobody liked her, and the look in her eyes…It was scary."

Her heart broke as she focused her attention on the father. She felt a strong connection, but likely due to the fact that her own father had the same name and career as this man. It created an enormous tension in her chest and nearly toppled her as her mind flashed back to her experiences.

When she and Carly got involved in becoming porn stars and prostitutes, the common ground was money, but to Sam it was also about the attention. She didn't feel like she got the attention, not where Melanie was concerned. "Look in whose? Trina's?"

"Yep. Dull, lifeless, almost like she didn't care anymore. Nobody really cared to look long enough to notice it, but after a few years, I think Trina just lost a little bit of that light. I think she gave up." She heard a pause and turned away. Her hand moved up to her chest and her eyes quivered as the fierce pounding of her heart stabbed her. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. If you see Tori again, could you ask her if she'd send Trina over?"

"Why? Do you want to counsel her or something?"

"No, I just want to see that look you're talking about." If it was anything like she thought it was, then she would know. She had that same look at one point, but Carly had it much worse. Where Valerie and Jonah saved Sam from the streets, Carly was more addicted and didn't want the help at first. Eventually, Carly ended up where many prostitutes did, in the middle of gang abuse. When they finally found her and rescued her, there was absolutely no hope left in her eyes.

Thankfully they rescued her in time to nurture her back, but as Carly so often told her, she still had very vivid and colorful nightmares and memories that brought her to her knees.

"I just know people like that, Cat." She pushed open the door of the bar and waited as her friend let out a sad moan. "People who lose sight of the positive when they've been through something so much that they can no longer feel hope of being rescued." It always took a long way to get there, especially since that point was literally rock bottom.

For Carly, and for herself, of course they enjoyed the sexual activities at first. They loved it and didn't want to stop, especially because it gave them attention and made them feel like people gave a shit. Then reality sank in, nobody cared, men treated them like third class citizens. During a shoot, they had no real say about what went on, they could try but the men would so often demand things done the way _they_ wanted it.

"Something to remember, Cat. Inherently, people are not evil, they are not bad. People do bad things, and then there's the lost-who become the victims of the people who make bad decisions." She closed the door and stepped out on the sidewalk, her eyes followed a green Toyota truck speeding down the bleak street. "Yet, the victim makes that decision at the same time. The lost seek out attention, craving it, and they stumble across these people who do not have the best intentions and usually are out for themselves."

"Okay?"

"Because the lost are in fact, lost, they're vulnerable to manipulation-not realizing that the person they're interacting with is less than good-hearted. After being sullied so many times, the lost lose sight of the light they once had-usually comes after realization that the person they found as well did not care for them, and therefore cemented their entire reason for seeking out that attention at the first place."

"I understand."

"You'd like to know part of what I do, and that's it. I counsel those people-I try to be the person that can rescue them." She heard a voice to her right and looked over to see a scantily dressed woman with brown curls walking towards a flashy red sports car. This woman was dressed in black lingerie, her brown eyes were sharp and emotionless at the same time, and the corners of her lips were digging into her cheeks.

She furrowed her brow and took a step closer, watching as skinhead in the driver's seat jerked his thumb to the passenger seat. This woman looked familiar, but Sam couldn't place a finger on who or where she'd seen this person before. "Hey Cat?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you text me a picture of your friend and her sister again?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear after hearing a slight buzz within seconds. Her eyes drifted to the phone and she pulled up the photo. What she saw stopped her heart in a single instance and turned her blood cold.

As her fears and suspicions were suspected, she turned her eyes to the car, cringing when she saw the man put his arm around the woman's shoulders. "Trina Vega…"

Thinking fast, she made her way to her car-which she usually took when carrying her laptop, as opposed to the motorcycle. Her eyes remained frozen on the car in front of her as she started it up. "Cat, I'm going to let you go. I don't know when I'm going to be home."

"Aw, Sam!"

"Sorry, Cat. Something came up." Her heart was racing as visions of her past came seeping in. This was a woman much like herself, someone with a high profile father and a possibly negligent mother. A woman with a perfect sibling.

If she could reach out and help this girl, that would be something for her to truly be proud of. Only she didn't want this to be just for the accomplishment. If this girl had an experience anything like her own, she wanted to keep her from traveling down that same path.

Only if she wanted the help, though. Yet a no didn't mean Sam would give up. She clicked off the phone and slanted her eyes while gently grasping the steering wheel. The car before her started up and Sam cracked her neck to the right.

"Hopefully, I just found my first client."

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Obviously the struggle is to get the person to want help, and here the "client" clearly won't want help or see anything wrong at first. Understand the lifestyle is a very serious and very real issue (Touched on in "Red Light", clearly this is done from the counselor's perspective and won't be a series of sessions in an office). Many people get in this life for reasons of money, attention, sometimes they just like it, and many people find once they get involved it's hard to escape. What we'll see in this is Sam attempting to convince Trina of the risks and trying to be able to get her to see the dangers before it's too late, as unfortunately happens with so many people-and this all the while trying not to force help upon her. Please, as you read this, read it with an open mind.


	2. To Live a Nightmare

Red Light Deux

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: This is, in a way a continuation of an old story "Red Light". You don't have to _know_ or even follow "Red Light" to get this. I'll have momentary flashbacks where important. I want to do it in Sam's perspective primarily because it'll be the counselor's perspective that will bring further intrigue, rather than Trina's perspective. Doing it in the client would make the story similar to the other. Do read.

A/N: This is more descriptive to give you an idea of where this will head once it kicks off

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Chapter 2 (To Live a Nightmare)

Sam tapped her fingers gently on the leather steering wheel of her car, studying the dark road before her. She was parked at the curb beside a cracked building with a steel door. The only source of light came from a dim lit lamp hanging above the door.

Her stomach churned violently when she heard music being played from a nearby radio. Her eyes moved to the rearview mirror and studied a man leaning loosely against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. This man was playing a song from _Porcelain and the Tramps_, a band which she hated more than any other musician she had to suffer through. It was due to the flashback-inducing songs they had which reminded her of a time she could never truly forget.

After closing the windows of her car, Sam leaned back and shifted her gaze onto the steel door. There were several dents as well as tiny holes that resembled bullet holes. Her heart sank as she thought about this girl and what she would say to her.

"I don't know if she wants help." Sam struck the record button on her handheld recorder, it was crucial for notes. She took a deep breath and scrunched her forehead. "Her family situation is a lot like mine, based on what Cat tells me, it's going to be difficult not to put some personal feelings on this-but I think that's going to be a driving factor in helping this girl."

It was one thing that Trina's father was also a very high profile police officer like her own dad, but the issue here was that it sounded like the man didn't care about his eldest daughter. Her own father _did_ care about her, but it had been hard for her to see it. "I cannot scare her away from help, but I cannot force it the subject."

She was well aware of how it would feel for someone to just start talking about the dangers of the lifestyle she was in. Immediately it could close a window. It could be good to introduce her as a roommate and friend of Cat's, but she didn't know exactly how good the relationship the girl had with her.

The car began to vibrate with startling sensation so she turned her head only to see the man turning up the volume on his radio. _"I'll show you what it means to control you. Cause I'm the fucking King of the World!"_ Bile rose in her throat as the image of a stranger hovering over her shot through her. She put her fingers to her forehead and shook her head.

With every tap of the man's foot and every bounce of his head, Sam's body would tense. Her eyebrows curved down in the middle and her teeth clenched. Her fingers grasped the handle of the door and started to push it open, which caused the music to blast fully in her ears.

The song shifted to the band's _Red Light District_ and her heart pulsed a flash of adrenaline and venom into her blood. She clicked off the recorder and marched towards the man, keeping her fiery glare on him.

He turned his eyes up to her and smiled. "Hello. Can I help you with something?" She grabbed the cord to the radio and ripped it from the outside outlet. The man's eyes widened as she grabbed the radio. "Hey! I was listening to that."

"Now you're not." The man threw his hands up and took a step back. Her nostrils flared and her chest expanded slowly, then fell. Each slow breath calmed and relaxed her nerves. She set the radio down on the ground and dropped the cord. "Sorry. Not my call, just…try not to blast it please? I'm waiting on someone. That band is very unsettling to hear."

The man chuckled softly and grabbed his radio. "Right." She watched as he walked away, muttering under his breath. Sam scratched the left side of her head and cringed at the smoky texture.

In the distance she saw another street worker standing beneath a lamp post. Her lips pressed together and her eyes softened. There were so many people that judged these people harshly, it broke her heart to see the poor treatment.

There wasn't much in the world she had compassion for, that was something that remained somewhat similar to her younger days. Her aggressive nature had gone down tremendously, but to the majority of people she still was hardened. The ones that did see most of her compassion, aside from those closest, were these workers.

It was known she couldn't save them all, and not every one of them wanted help, but at the very least it was possible to work with those that would.

Sam turned away with a wistful sigh and started for her car. The sound of a latch clicking stopped her in her tracks. She watched with wide eyes as the skinhead man opened the steel door and walked out. His muscular frame and bald head was lit by the lamp light glinting off the pools of sweat building on his slimy figure.

He was wearing pants with his shirt tied in the belt. His hand clutched a piece of rubber with white fluid dripping from it. Sam's stomach clenched and a painful ache spread across her chest as she watched the man slink towards his car while dropping the condom down into a gutter.

She put her hand to her stomach and felt her body shiver. "Jesus. Push through it." Her teeth clenched and her nostrils spread out to release a large breath. Her eyebrows lifted when she saw Trina walking out and counting a large sum of money in her hands.

A lump formed in her throat as she recalled the first statement told to her by someone after her very first time. Spoken with sharp snide, someone asked if it was worth it. She pushed the terrible memory from her mind and stepped forward, nearly bumping into Trina.

The girl lifted her head and stepped back, her eyes grew large and her mouth hung open. Her red lipstick was smudged and greasy, her hair was a mess and her clothes had been cut. The panties she wore were had a long gash that the girl made no attempt to cover. "I'm sorry," Trina stated, "I wasn't looking."

"It's okay." The first person that ran into her knew she'd been from iCarly and pointed it out. She was terrified of that recognition and didn't want this girl to feel the same way. "Strange part of town this is, huh?"

"Strange?" Trina moved her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "I'm used to it." Studying the woman's eyes, she could see no emotion towards the subject. Yet there was a tiny glint of sadness amid all the darkness. How long had she been in this life? "You're not a worker are you? You don't look like someone that should be around here…"

"Used to be, but I'm not in the life anymore." Trina's eyebrows closed in and she glanced down at the money. The girl's father was a police chief. Money certainly was no object. However a worker in the sex industry didn't always work for money. This was mental, psychological, and Sam could see the same look in the girl's eyes that connected them. "I was more into videos, though…" Her voice broke and she silenced herself abruptly.

Trina's gaze shot back to her and she curved the corner of her lip up a slight amount. "I've done one or two videos but I don't know if I like it." Sam furrowed her brow and crossed her arms as Trina stuffed the money between her breasts. "Not like anyone would know who I am though, right?"

She flattened her lips and leaned back as her arms folded across her chest. "What do you mean?" Trina walked past her and waved her hand in the air.

"Well Daddy's just been promoted to a big shot position, Mom became a head nurse at the hospital and my sister's on every screen in Los Angeles despite not getting any record contracts. They're all seen more, so it's just that easy for me to do whatever. Right? I mean nobody notices what I do so nobody's going to complain, I'm in the clear."

"It could come around. Do you wonder what might happen if anyone found out?" She could better diagnose any mental or emotional disorders this way, if any existed at all. Chances were likely that Bipolar Disorder would be a given, but she wasn't going to make any diagnoses.

Trina stopped and looked over her shoulder with a frown. "I don't want my dad to be shamed, I guess. If people knew my sister had a sibling that was doing what I do, it could ruin her."

Sam smiled inwardly and moved her hands to her hips. "Maybe." It was good that the girl did appear to care. This made it all that much easier for her to be reasoned with. "I remember when I was in the industry, I didn't think my family would care."

"I could agree to that, I guess. It feels good, though."

"Does it?"

"Sure." She studied Trina's downward expression and huffed lightly. The girl did not look to be convinced of what she was saying, but then, Sam needed to choose her words carefully. "I mean yeah it feels weird doing it with different people, but there's a payout. When a guy pays attention to me, I like it, I feel…I don't know, alive?" Trina's mouth twisted and her cheekbones faltered. "Then again, there's really not much else out there for me. I could never get a boyfriend, can't go anywhere without hearing people talk about my sister or my father, so yeah this is it."

Hearing that, Sam had to assume Trina either hadn't been in this for long or she had not yet begun to feel the ramifications of sexual degradation. Each person was different, however, so there was no real way to measure just how or if Trina would ever feel like she was being degraded in any way.

Trina met her gaze and moved her hand up to her chin, sliding her thumb across with a huff. "Where have I seen you before?"

"Used to be involved with a webshow before I got into prostitution and pornography." It pained her to be open about her past, but it was through this openness that she was making a connection with Trina. Therefore she needed to do so and to push off the pain it created. "Up in Seattle."

"What brings you down here?"

"Career opportunities are better here." She shrugged and looked off to the side. "Turns out Seattle's not too happy to give jobs to former sex workers." She hated the term, but it was better than 'prosititute'.

"Well. If you're trying to get away from that life, hanging around this area won't do you much good." A weak chuckle fell from Sam's lips and she nodded gently.

"That is true." She pushed her trembling hands into her pockets to conceal them. Trina lifted her eyebrows and studied her with curiosity. "Truth is I was meeting a client-I am a counselor." The girl's lips parted and she turned around with a wry laugh.

"Good to know. I guess that'd explain why you're down in the shadier place. I'll let you know, I don't think I need any 'help'"

"I didn't think I did either until I hit rock bottom, but I'm not preaching to you, so don't worry." It may very well take for Trina what it took for her to realize she was in trouble. Sam hoped that wouldn't come because she knew how painful it was to be fully disowned by those you love.

Granted her family didn't disown her the way Carly's had. She had only been kicked out until she 'turned around'. It hurt just as much as it hurt Carly to hear Spencer say she was no sister of his.

She watched as Trina started to walk off. The girl stopped several feet away and turned around slightly. "Question." Sam inhaled slowly and felt her eyes grow moist. "What's it like at the bottom? When you hit that low, what was it like?"

"Hell." She exhaled as Trina's eyes dropped down. "Like a nightmare you can't wake from, a night you will remember as long as you live."

"Oh." Trina lifted her eyes back up and squinted before walking around the corner.

She was so much like herself, so much like Carly, Sam couldn't help but feel a fire growing inside of her. Trina may not feel like she needed help, but there was still a little of her left from what Sam could see. She needed to reach this part, and if anything, make Trina start to _think_ about the path she was on. It was the best way to get someone to seek help, to have them realize for themselves how deadly the journey was.

* * *

So that gives you an idea where this will head, somewhat. I shall make this tasteful as possible, but also realistic as I can.


	3. Psychoanalyzed

Red Light Deux

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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Chapter 3 (Psychoanalyzed)

"I'm home." The scent of chicken tantalized Sam's nostrils, drawing her further into the house. Cat was sitting on the couch with her laptop. The girl looked up at her with a concerned smile and motioned to the dish on the counter.

"I made orange chicken, had to keep it on the stove to keep it warm, but it should be fine if you're ready to eat." Cat folded her arms and crossed her legs. "You know the girl we were babysitting today?"

"Ruth?" Sam removed her jacket and hung it up. She felt guilty for having had to leave Cat alone to babysit. It would have been much easier to just tell her the truth of the matter, but she didn't know Cat would respond to 'I once was a porn star' coupled with the fact that she was counseling people in the sex industry. "What about it?"

"She stumbled on one of those bad sites." Her heart stopped for a moment and she turned slowly to the girl. Sam put on the best nonchalant gaze she could muster, but now a new fear was climbing into her throat. Her father, as well as Douglas did the best they could to remove any and all traces of _'Samantha Golden'_, that persona was gone, but there could still be one or two traces floating around somewhere on the internet.

The thought of Cat discovering it on her own was horrifying, but one of the kids they babysat would be worse. "How long was she on there before you closed out?" Sweat trickled down her neck and her eyes drifted to the thermostat, the temperature was lower than it felt in the room.

Cat swept her bangs away from her forehead and furrowed her brow. "Are you alright Sam? You look a little pale." Sam cleared her throat and closed her eyes.

"I'm fine. Just tell me what happened." She made her way over and sat down beside her friend. Her eyes hesitated before glancing at the screen, all that was there was the desktop background. "Do you know how to put locks on the laptop"

"Not really." Cat moved her hands to the laptop keyboard and shrugged. "I think Ruth was on the site for a small amount of time, she started crying and told me she meant to go to some game website and wound up mistyping."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief and moved her hand up to her chest. "That's usually how it happens. You closed it out I'm sure?"

"Of course, I don't want to see that stuff. It's sick."

"Some of the people in that life are forced into it."

Cat smiled gently and quickly shook her head. "I have nothing against the women in there." Sam raised an eyebrow and studied the redhead closely. She was curious to hear more, but wanted to be careful not to ask too many questions that may reveal anything about her past. "I know most of those girls don't really want to be in that life. A lot do, I'm sure, but for the most part…well I don't know, what attracts girls to that lifestyle?"

"Addiction." That was what hit Carly the hardest and made it more difficult for the girl to leave than Sam. "Then once they get involved they don't think there's anyone that can help, and the further in they go the darker it gets. They might even be disowned by their family, see the life as the only thing that can help them get by."

"Sounds like a nightmare, really. What causes people to even get involved?"

"Money usually. Or a demon offering them a way out of whatever they struggle with." For Carly it had been more a money issue, but for Sam it was a matter of attention.

"I guess you know some of this from counseling." Cat opened a dialog box on the computer and frowned. "So how do we get these things blocked? I don't want Dice or Goomer deciding to use my computer for anything if they come around."

"I don't think you're at risk of that, but it's still a good idea." Sam took the laptop and started to bring up the privacy options. She also wanted to find and install one of the protection software, such as _K-9 Web Protection._ It is one of the most accurate and risk-free protection software out there.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow, by the way?"

"I don't think so. Why?" She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at Cat. Her fingers hovered over the keys and curled into her palm. "Need me to help you with something?"

"I'm hanging out with Jade and the others, and I don't really feel like it. I don't want to turn them down, but you know how it is."

"So you want me to hang out with you and your friends?"

"Please?" This could be a good opportunity to get to know the crew while also gathering their thoughts on the Vega family. She curved the corner of her lip up and pat her friend on the back. "I guess I can go along." The more intel, the better.

"Oh thank you." Cat leaned back and her body relaxed. "You don't know how much it means to me. It isn't that I don't like them, it's just that I don't really have any other friends."

"Sure Cat, I understand."

The sun was high the next morning and the temperature was warmer than she thought it'd be. She still wore long sleeved shirts and longer pants, but that was in her style. Anything less and more revealing felt uncomfortable to her, and she still detested when people eyed her-so it was crucial to her that she not wear the tank tops and shorts that most girls wore these days.

Cat led the way to the table where her friends were waiting. Jade and Tori both wore spaghetti strap shirts and a short pair of shorts and skirt, respectively. Andre had on a short sleeved white t-shirt and pair of black trousers.

She had to turn away from him as his appearance, even with his hair up, reminded her of a man she'd slept with. It formed a nauseous pit in her gut, and forced a vivid memory to resurface, but she remained stoic and pushed away the memory.

Beck looked better since he was wearing a light denim jacket over a similar t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"So this is your roommate?" Tori asked pulling her hair back. Sam felt the girl's eyes studying her and watched as they trailed up and down her body. "You do realize it's almost a hundred degrees out, right?"

"I didn't feel like wearing short stuff." Sam took her seat beside Cat and closed her eyes when Andre said hello. The image of the man was much older than the teenager was, and his hair hadn't been in dreads. "It is good to meet you guys. I've already met Jade and Robbie, of course."

It was good to see Freddie again when he wound up coming down. He was still with Melanie, thankfully, and it wasn't too awkward as she feared it might have been. The fact that Melanie was her sister was the only real reason he remained a friend of hers after having discovered her lifestyle.

"Good to see you again," Robbie waved.

Jade folded her arms on the table and smiled at her. "It's so nice to see someone normal once in a while." Sam felt a pang in her chest and stuttered over her words.

"Normal?"

"Yeah of all of us, the people we know are nuts. Cat's got one normal friend with you."

"I'm…sorry?" She was taken aback by Jade's comment and wanted to know more, but she wasn't here to do all the talking. She already understood how judgmental the friends were from what Cat had often told her, but she never got to experience it in person. "What qualifies someone as 'normal' anyway?" She would love to psychoanalyze these people and mess with their minds, but she would have to resist the urge.

"Forgive her," Tori rolled her eyes, "We were just talking about my weird ass sister." Tori leaned over the table and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Did you know she's been coming home at like midnight these days?" Sam raised her eyebrows and leaned back in the chair. Her heart sank as Tori leaned back and shook her head. "Or later! I've seen her sneak in the house. She did it last night too."

Beck and Andre both started to chuckle, causing Sam to turn towards the men. She folded her forearms at her waist and tapped her fingertips onto her right arm. "Maybe she's decided to take up her true calling," Andre smacked Beck on the shoulder with his back hand. Tori scrunched her face and her lips formed an oval. "Maybe it's the one thing she's good at, sleeping around."

A sharp pain struck Sam in the side and rage coursed through her veins. Before she could react in defense of Trina, and women in her situation, Tori spoke up. "That's a little too far, Andre." Tori crossed her arms and slanted her eyes. "I can let you guys go out of your way to insult my sister, but don't call her a street-worker. Whatever she does at night, I'm sure she has her reasons-"

"Why not call it like it is? What _else_ would she be doing?"

"What? Come on…"

"See what I mean?" Cat leaned into Sam, whispering her statement. "Tori's let them get away with murder when it comes to their criticizing their relatives. They think they're perfect enough, so they're untouchable. So obviously they see Tori's mother having an affair, her father sometimes drinks and Trina's obviously up to something…they go on the attack because they're above them, and Tori's at the point where she can't make them stop anymore. They'll just laugh in her face."

"I see." Her blood was boiling as it was, but not because of the friends' arrogance. Rather she was angry at them for doing what so many others do. "I've got them figured out already."

"What was that?" Jade asked with a start. Sam glanced at her and shrugged. "You said something about us? What did Cat just whisper?"

"Oh nothing, just that you all think you're above everyone else." She could feel Cat tense beside her, then waited as the rest glared in her direction.

"We are certainly better than a harpy that comes in at midnight after doing god knows what."

"Really? What does God know? You would be so quick to throw a stone at someone, but as He said in the scripture…whoever is sinless, throw the first stone." Sam picked up a roll she got from the nearby food stand and broke it apart. Her voice remained calm and her body relaxed. "I've already got each of you figured out."

"Oh please. What are you, a psychiatrist?"

"She's a counselor," Cat chirped. Sam laughed nervously and lifted a hand in defense.

"Studying to be one, I'm more of an intern right now. I do work my own cases. Or…" Her eyes flickered over to Andre and her lip curled into a smirk. "You could call it like it is."

The friends all leaned back, their palms slid on the table while Tori watched as though a showdown were about to occur. "I've seen a lot of people with a lot of different issues." She uncrossed her arms and pointed a finger at the others. "I've helped them work through, and when I say I've seen each and every one of you…you'd better believe it."

"You think you can crack us?" Andre's eyes lit up and his lips curled into a bright smirk. It was then that Sam saw it, the same exact face of the man that she'd once known. Her breath caught in her throat and the stranger's name hung at the tip of her tongue.

_Mikal Harris._

She took a deep breath, struggling against the pressure in her chest. "Andre, out of curiosity, you don't happen to have a relative named Mikal, do you?" He tensed and dipped his head, his face darkened and his tone reflected animosity.

"Older brother. Haven't seen him in ages, we kind of cast him out of the family. How do you know that name?" Her lips formed a circle and she quickly shook her head.

"N-No reason. You just remind me of someone I met with a similar name and face."

"He um…" Andre's eyes shifted from side to side as the others turned to look at him. "He got caught up using drugs and then was in a lot of filthy stuff." Tori's hand cupped over her mouth and her eyes flickered with resentment.

"And then you have the nerve to call my sister a 'street worker'?!" Andre winced as Tori struck his arm with her fist. "Asshole! Jumping to conclusions when your own brother was into shady activity!"

"Not just him." Andre rubbed his arm and frowned. "My mom and dad were into gang lifestyles. We lived in Seattle when all the gangs started going to war a few years ago up there." Sam pressed her lips together, recalling the vivid memories of Carlos and the gang that held Carly hostage for so long. "They moved me down to live with Grandma before the whole mess really, but yeah…"

"So you're insecure," Sam replied with nonchalance. Andre opened his mouth then bowed his head. "Because you want to be perfect and act like the stain on your own family isn't there, you mock your friend's relatives hoping that it'll cover up the giant growth in your own life."

Cat covered her mouth and the others stared at Andre with wide eyes. "I-"

"Do you deny it?" Sam smirked with confidence and waited as he bowed his head and gently moved it from side to side. "Tori, you should probably realize gossip about your family isn't going to do you a world of good, especially when you have friends that may stop taking you seriously when you finally do tell them enough is enough."

Tori shrugged and looked away. "I just don't think it would come to that."

"It will _always_ come to that. It's human nature to berate and ridicule someone else's faults just to make your own feel light. That doesn't just apply to your friends, but to everyone. I was there once, and I know several people who were there."

"Well you only got Andre pegged," Jade replied cockily. "What about the rest of us? How much do you _think _you know of us? Hm?" Jade pushed her chest forward and chuckled while Cat moved her hands up in front of her eyes.

This was a cruel game to play, since now Sam was itching to put someone in their place. It also gave her a chance to truly flex her skills as a counselor. "Cat's told me just as many things about you guys as I'm sure Tori's told you about her family." Tori's face grew red with embarrassment and she leaned back, putting on a tough face to deflect the feeling. "I'll start with you, Beck…"

"Good luck," Beck chuckled and moved an arm around Jade's shoulders. "I'm probably the least messed up person here." Jade shot him a look and Sam slowly moved her roll to her lips.

"I feel sorry for you." His lips fell into a frown as Sam thought about some of the things Cat told her about his relationship with Jade. There was a time that Cat stumbled upon him in the janitor's closet when she was asked to retrieve something for a teacher, and he was busy looking at a pornographic magazine.

This was the reason she felt so sorry for him. Not only was he unknowingly participating in the abuse of so many women by viewing these things, but if he didn't keep it in check, he may very well become obsessed with it.

"Your type, Beck. You're frustrated and have the ego of a man that's been in a relationship for as long as you have." His face scrunched and he turned his eyes slowly towards Cat. "I can see it in your eyes. Many men, and women, come to the counselor's office with the same dilemma. They want sex in the relationship but the other person doesn't, and they end up turning towards things like pornography, soliciting prostitutes, and so on."

Jade sank away from Beck, shooting him a wide eyed look. He moved his trembling hand through his hair and started to shake his head, but all he could reply with was a stammer. "You don't know, you can't know…"

"Just watch yourself Beck. Every man, and some women have probably looked at a naked woman at least once. It's lust that drives the desire. Just keep it in check before it gets worse."

"I swear." His voice shook and his eyes darted from side to side.

"You're lying!" Jade exclaimed. "I can hear it in your voice! Whenever you lie you can't talk right and your teeth start chattering. Oh my god!" He slouched and bowed his head, grumbling softly. "Have you slept with another woman?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't cheat on you, Jade."

"Oh and trying to kiss Tori that one time was nothing?"

"We weren't together!"

"We weren't broken up long either. Attraction and wanting to kiss someone doesn't just start right away, Beck! Am I not enough for you?"

Robbie curled a finger over his lip and chuckled once. "Now might be a bad time to bring it up, but he did think Tori's sister was hot. That one night when we all went over-we didn't know her dad was there." Tori raised an eyebrow at Robbie, then shot a look at Beck. "He did want to flirt a little."

"You are not helping man!" Beck pointed a finger at Robbie and Jade slowly shook her head. Sam did feel bad for causing this tension, but something had to break this group of the perfect little bubble they cast around themselves.

By the looks on Cat's and Tori's face, they were horrified but pleased at the same time. "I swear I never thought these guys were anything _but_ perfect," Cat laughed. "I don't approve of this, Sam, but keep going!"

"Oh yes do continue," Jade rolled her eyes, "We all know Robbie's got issues."

"A loss," Sam nodded to Robbie and her lips pulled back into the corners of her mouth. "Cat told me how you look after your little sister." Robbie froze and the others raised their eyebrows. "How your dad's in prison now and that your mom and brother died a few years ago." His head bowed and his eyes moved towards a small black case at his feet.

"Yeah…"

Sam reached over, putting her hand over his. His eyes drifted into hers and his lip tucked into a tiny smile. "You're not weird for latching onto something. So many people come into the office with items that either belonged to or remind them of somebody they lost and loved." His eyes started to well up and he quickly swept them with his finger. "It's easy to focus on anything else that masks the pain of that loss and the responsibility you have to contend with, but you can't continue that way."

"It's not that easy."

"I know. Have you considered getting help? Talking to someone about it?"

"Well there is Lane, but he's a bit strange…plus we're kind of done with Hollywood Arts now."

"He may still be able to offer an ear."

"Yeah…"

She looked towards Jade, and the girl instantly threw her hands up. "Don't you dare," Jade replied coldly, "I don't need you psychoanalyzing me. You've already gone and got everyone else upset…"

"I can respect that." It was Jade's case she was most familiar with aside from the workers in the sex industry. Though even people in that lifestyle still suffered from abuse. Jade had all the telltale signs of it.

The over-abundance of makeup, the tendency to project onto others, the lack of trust in others including her own boyfriend, and the overall depressed air that came from her. She wanted to help the girl, but since she wasn't a full counselor she couldn't focus on more than one client, and she already had in mind the person she _was_ going to help.

Besides, her specialization wasn't in abuse cases-though she knew how to counsel someone in such a situation. Still she wasn't to venture, for instance a counselor for troubled teens wouldn't likely counsel a married couple going through family problems.

"Let me save you some time," Tori leaned forward and folded her forearms over the table. Sam met the girl's eyes and frowned at the somberness they held. "I do struggle with family issues. Trina and I both do. What? I'm not going to say, but it should be obvious since you probably realize my mother has an affair. There's obvious marital problems, and both us girls have a clear lack of attention towards us between mom's screwing dad's former partner, and dad's total workaholic personality. Does it bother me? Yes. I don't know how Trina deals with it, but it's probably obvious how I deal with it, no?"

"By telling your friends about every detail of your family's personal life," Cat muttered. Tori's shoulders fell and she exhaled slowly.

"Yeah Cat. Sure." Now this family Sam wanted to meet, and maybe she could further figure out how to truly help Trina-or at least convince the girl to get out of that life before it becomes too late for her. "Anyway…"

Tori smirked and crossed her arms. "I like your roommate, she tells it like it is. You both should come to my church Sunday, they're doing this whole thing because of Dad's recent promotion." The girl rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air. "I sing in the church's choir. Mom will be there, and maybe if you guys are there it'll save me having to deal with my parents' heightened sense of self-worth."

"I don't know…"

"I don't see why it would hurt," Sam remarked. At first thought, she wasn't comfortable going to a church. They were sometimes the most judgmental of people, especially after word of her life had gotten around in Seattle. She could not go to a church without trying to disguise herself-and that didn't always work. "It could be okay. Maybe better than Seattle…"

* * *

Well, there's that chapter.


	4. No Simple Task

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 4 (No Simple Task)

"I cannot believe you did that!" Cat laughed once they were in the shelter of their apartment. Sam shrugged nonchalantly and took her seat at the couch. Her gaze fell on the blank television screen. "You not only got them to shut up, but you made them feel like shit."

"Wasn't my goal, Cat. I just wanted them to think before bashing someone else when acting as though they have no qualms." She flashed a subtle smile and closed her eyes. "My power is used for good, not bad."

Cat spun around and put her closed hands to her waist. "You just can't let me have this moment, can you?" Sam put her teeth together and grinned wide. Cat dropped her hands and let her shoulders fall with a heavy sigh. The girl sat down next to her and leaned back against the armrest. "I guess it just feels nice to see someone put them in their place even if that isn't the intention. Last person that did that was Sinjin."

"That's kind of cold for your friends, isn't it?"

Cat's face tensed and she threw her heels up onto the coffee table. "Why should I defend or care about them when they do not care about me?" Her eyebrows rose and she leaned forward, clasping her hands between her knees. It was surprising to hear Cat speak with such bitterness, but then, they'd never spoke much of her friends aside from the occasional story Cat would tell.

Though the fact Cat would tell her things about her friends, even intimate details did show a lack of loyalty towards them. "What have they done to deserve your anger towards them?" Cat threw her hand back and laughed.

"What _haven't_ they done!" The redhead brought her feet back and ran her hands over her knees. She looked away and her chest fell as a loud breath left her lips. "I don't want their pity. I knew from the start that I was 'different'. They befriended me because I didn't have any other friends-I was too weird and too stupid to have friends…so they pitied me." Cat folded her arms and closed her eyes. "For the longest time I didn't even care."

"No?"

"I just went along with the things they said or did, but they rarely asked my opinion on anything. They didn't try to get to know me because I just wasn't interesting enough or whatever." Cat shifted to the right and let her voice fill with anger. "They think they're doing me a favor. Well they can take their so-called friendship and shove it up their asses!"

"I suppose I can understand why you'd feel that way." She wouldn't want anyone to be friends with her out of pity either. "I'd probably drive myself batty if I had a bunch of people around me only out of pity." It was one of the reasons she kept her past so tightly locked up. Not only did she feel it would drive people off, others might just pity her for going through something so terrible, and pity was the last thing she needed.

"Yeah." Cat stood from the couch and made her way to the refrigerator. "You know, I haven't seen Dice in a while. I think he may be avoiding us."

"He's a twelve, thirteen year old boy growing up, Cat. Don't forget he's probably getting other things to do." She leaned back on the armrest and threw her legs up onto the couch, watching as her roommate removed a carton of milk.

"This is also Dice we're talking about. His best friends are a twenty-thirty something pro wrestler and two girls in their late teens and early twenties. I'm betting there aren't that many people his age hanging around."

"True." She moved her left hand behind her head and closed her eyes. "So, Tori's church. You ever been?"

"Can't say I have." Cat poured the milk into a glass and furrowed her brow. "Her father's a deacon, and I think it's a bible church. Mrs. Vega deals with the nursery on Sunday mornings. Last I heard, Trina does not attend." Sam pursed her lips and opened her eyes, studying Cat for the moment.

She was surprised to hear that Trina didn't go, but yet, it made sense to her. "Tori ever mention why that is?"

"From what Tori says, her family is a pack of hypocrites. They go on and on about how perfect they are, judge those that sin like everyone else, and they have a lot of problems in their own lives-mostly marital issues." Cat returned the milk and drank from the glass. She wiped her lip with her finger and shrugged. "Tori may have mentioned that Trina simply refuses to go to church with them so she goes just to appease them and be the good daughter."

"Sounds like a destructive environment for both girls."

"Yeah, it would be. I'm not sure how Tori manages to keep her sanity-I really think she was telling the truth with how she deals with it all. She tells everybody her family's most intimate personal problems like they're just stories waiting to be told, they have no privacy. Then she uses Hollywood Arts as if it were some sort of drug."

"What do you mean? It's just a school, right? She doesn't go anymore."

"She still performs on stage there for everyone. Tori lives for the applause and cheers of everyone watching her." This was another note to jot down, though it didn't pertain to Trina, it could certainly provide clues for further analysis.

Both girls were involved in some sort of performance outlet-albeit different kinds. For Tori it was singing and dancing, for Trina it was the sex industry. As with most cases, these troubles stemmed almost directly from family issues.

"Then I look forward to this church." She wanted to know more about this family, to see them personally and gauge just how deeply rooted this mess was. On one part she knew counselors weren't supposed to get involved with the family of a client unless permission had been given by the client, but on her side she wasn't physically acting with her client. Trina had not started any sort of counseling, and Tori invited her and Cat along to the church. "At least this is ethical."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Cat raised an eyebrow at her and Sam pushed herself up with a heavy sigh. She didn't want to be secretive where she didn't have to be. "Well actually, I do kind of want to observe the Vega family."

"Oh god." Cat's face turned sour and she set the glass gently on the counter. "You're turning them into one of your subjects, aren't you?"

"It isn't like that, exactly."

"Well you're always working on your counselor notes." Cat made her way back to the couch and motioned to the laptop on the recliner cushion. It was Sam's, she had it password protected for sake of confidentiality, but Cat was aware it held all her important notes. "I imagine that implies you're also going to need a client. I should probably warn you, Tori and her family are some pretty crazy people."

"I've met crazy, Cat. Unless they're gang members hyped up on PCP, I doubt that they're anything I can't deal with." She curled a smirk on her lips and watched Cat's face fall. The girl's lips parted and her hands moved to her waist, but she remained speechless.

"Do I even _want_ to ask?"

"You probably don't." She shook her head and crossed her arms. She was referring to Carlos, the leader of the gang involved in the prostitution ring that claimed Carly before she had a chance to get out of the sex industry.

When they finally found her, she'd been hooked up to an IV pumping drugs into her body while she lay bedridden. Sam's father had the police clear out the gang involved in this ring, thereby saving as many of the prostitutes as they could-with Carly being the last one rescued. In desperation, Carlos tried to fight them off by taking PCP-the "invincible" drug.

During the fight, a rival gang leader along with the help of Douglas, the former gang leader that Carly had been dating, brought him down by continually pumping PCP into his body until he overdosed.

"It was a mess, Cat. That's all I'm going to say on that note." She rolled her head to the right and glanced at the laptop. "Although that reminds me, I should give Carly a call and see how she and Doug are doing."

"When was the last time you talked to her?"

"About a week ago. She was thinking of moving back to Seattle, but I don't think she's going to for a while. Carly and Douglas really don't want to go back." She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Memories of a bad time."

"Yeah, I don't know if you and Carly were involved in the whole thing a couple years ago-the fight in Seattle was all over the news." Cat sat down on the couch and leaned back. "Your father's the police chief there, right? Or he was, anyway."

"Yep."

"Seattle's police and a few gangs rallied against this whole prostitution ring, turning the town into a warzone, right? If he was the police chief, then I wonder if you and Carly were affected in any way."

"Anything's possible."

No names were given, and Carly especially didn't want her face or name all over the airwaves. Sam maintained her privacy as well.

Sam took her laptop and powered it on. "Still, I can't believe you want to observe the Vega family." She chuckled at her roommate and kept her focus on the computer. "If you want a client, take your pick of me or any of my other friends. I don't mind, I'll be a willing client! The Vega's are…they're too hard!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because what one Vega goes through, all of them deal with. I'm sure. I don't mean like they all have the same problem, but that family's got to be one of the most tightly wound group in LA. Not to mention the obvious, Mr. Vega is now the sitting police chief-so someone from his family undergoing counseling is probably not going to sit well with him."

"My dad was a police chief-I know how to handle those types."

"I'm saying Mr. Vega likes a spotless, picture perfect, clean image." As did her father, there was no news here. Men and women in places of power in the city liked upholding a clean reputation, especially if their career choice was one of those that required being an upstanding citizen of the law. "Why do you think no one in his family has ever gone through counseling? He's not going to let it happen because it _would _get around-and I don't mean by way of his blabbermouth daughter. All it takes is someone seeing one of his relatives entering a counselor's office, and news will spread."

"I think you forget I don't operate in an office setting quite yet. I'm also not fully established, so people don't know I'm a counselor."

"All I'm saying is…if you really want to make someone in _that_ family part of your research, a client, or whatever-just be careful. They're not easy people to crack."

"I didn't take this job because it would be 'easy', Cat." With everything she would have to deal with, putting aside her own personal bias for the sake of her clients, there was no way in hell counseling was an easy task. "Besides, I _know_ how Mr. Vega would react."

"He's not the same type of man your father was."

"That, my dear friend, remains to be seen." Though her dad wasn't a bad person, he truly cared about his family once he got past the notion of having a spotless reputation. Of course, having a daughter involved in the sex industry may have had a hand in humbling him a bit.

Regardless of whether or not she got involved in this family's business, his unshakable reputation would fall eventually because Trina _was_ involved in the sex industry. For Sam, she was already determined to help Trina, and nothing was going to stop her.

Yet the entire Vega clan seemed like they needed saving. If anything, it was from their own pride and self-destructive tendencies. As much as she appreciated Cat's offer to be her client, or extending that to her other friends, none of them were a viable option.

Cat was correct in the sense that it wasn't going to be simple, Sam wasn't going to delude herself into thinking it would be. It was a subject she'd have to approach with extreme caution. As a freshly appointed Chief, Mr. Vega wouldn't take kindly to any counselor-even a non-established one getting involved in his family's affairs.

He'd be the one Vega that couldn't know right now, if ever, that she was a counselor or else he'd shut her out before she got a chance to do any good whatsoever.

* * *

So a monumental task obviously ahead. As much as she wants to help Trina (And she's not the only one that knows or wants to get her help either) the Vega family is so intricately woven that to help one from the muck, she may end up having to help counsel all of them. Well it does happen that some counselors have to set up a meeting with relatives.


	5. Reaching for Help

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Approach this chapter with care. I have no intention of going into theology. Church and religion will appear here and there as a tool but it isn't a major thing here. I am not going to push beliefs or anything. My stance on religion is that of a neutral part-hence the church in this is a non-denominational bible church. That's my disclaimer

A/N: On an side note, approach every chapter with care because of the issues that will be tossed about in this story.

* * *

Chapter 5 (Reaching for Help)

Church. It was the one place Sam hadn't approached in so long, nor had she made any attempt for lack of desire. Walking in with her was Cat, who made this venture a great deal easier on the level of stress it was causing. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Sam muttered with a deep breath.

"You act like it's the worst place on earth," Cat responded flatly. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "It is only church. What irritates me are the people who assume churchgoers have to be above human standards-there's bad on both sides but there's also good."

"I know that." She had nightmares about places like these, fearful of the judging eyes burning into her body and leaving scars as deep as those that remained from her past days in the sex industry. "I don't blame the religion for the people in it. I blame the people in it for the human nature that makes them behave in judgmental and hypocritical ways."

"I can understand that. I haven't been to a church in a while either."

It took her a while, but she did believe in a higher power. There were many times when she questioned whether or not God existed, and if he did, why would he let certain things happen to people. It was a subject she hadn't approached nor cared to approach.

"The last thing I need is a bunch of holier-than-thou people imposing their judgment on me. I'm here for one purpose and one purpose only, the Vega family."

"Got it." Cat rolled her eyes and motioned past her. Sam followed her gesture and smiled at Tori in the distance. The Vega was standing beside her parents, picking idly at something on her shirt. David and Holly were happily chatting with another couple.

Tori made eye contact with Sam and breathed out a relieved sigh before telling her parents she was going off to talk to someone. Holly asked her not to interrupt, so she merely shrugged and moved over to Sam and Cat. "Glad you guys could make it." Tori's hands moved to her waist and her head turned over her shoulder. "I'm going to go insane if I hear one more person ask Dad how he feels having been appointed to police chief." Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and her shoulders fell. "Not to mention how _great_ it is that God's fulfilling His purpose through my Dad."

The girl's tone took a mocking turn filled with spite and resentment. It caught Sam off guard, but she recovered as soon as she could. "I suppose it's a big deal having a police chief in your church."

"Oh please. My father's so full of himself and mom's still hanging on to him for money." Tori scratched her forehead and exhaled sharply. "I'm starting to sound like Trina now. Just perfect."

"I take Trina's not too thrilled about you dad's promotion either?"

"Oh neither of us are unhappy about it, don't get me wrong." Tori crossed her arms and stared at her father. "We're happy for him because he's worked so hard to get to where he's at, we're just sick of hearing about it!"

"I know the feeling." Sam laughed at the memory of her own father's appointment to the status of Chief. It was all over town, and the people at her school would not stop showering her with both compliments and fear of her status for nearly the entire year. "My dad's a chief, when he made the grade, people didn't let up for an entire year."

"You know something?" Tori's voice fell flat and she glanced back with half-lidded eyes and a subtle frown. "That's not in any way uplifting. You know how hard it is being the daughter of a police chief?"

"My dad's one."

"Exactly. So you get it."

"It's a headache, I know."

"We're under such strict watch." Tori shook her head and closed her eyes. "We can't do anything that would paint a bad image-though mom and dad are still just as neglectful. I swear Trina and I could get away with murder and not be seen until after the fact. Mom and Dad don't bother much with what we do as they do with their image-though how mom gets away with her affair, I'll never know."

"So what did you invite us here for?" Sam crossed her arms and retained a polite smile. The other day when she met Tori, she sensed a great deal of hesitancy when she spoke to her friends. When they brought Trina up, the swiftness of response from Tori was astonishing, she grew defensive in an instant. "I don't think you've invited us simply to make your time at church easier on yourself, especially if you're only sitting in the choir booth."

Tori leaned back and folded her arms. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes darted towards her parents. "You're right. You seem like you're just starting out as a counselor, but you're already good at reading people."

"You have to know how to do that. Part of the job."

"Yeah, I liked how you managed to single out everyone. Everything we talk about would be confidential, right?"

Sam heard a murmur beside her and turned to see Cat slowly shaking her head. "At this point I guess I should go elsewhere," the redhead asked. Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Tori beat her to it and apologized to Cat before asking to speak with Sam. "Great. I'll see you guys in the service. I'll find something to busy myself with."

Once the girl walked off, Tori motioned for Sam to follow. They walked into an empty room and Tori shut the door behind her. She sat down at a table and looked up to the girl. "Okay," Tori took a seat in front of her and folded her hands on the surface. "So the reason I asked you here was so I could talk to you-being a counselor, I didn't want to say anything in front of my friends." Tori shut her eyes and breathed in slowly. "I lied."

"About?"

"Trina." Sam leaned back in the chair. The air grew tense as Tori's posture changed into a rigid form. The girl's brow furrowed and her eyes focused on her thumb, moving idly over the back of her hand. "I talk a lot of crap about her, I know, but I can't stand someone calling her a prostitute the way Andre did." Sam closed her lips together and nodded once as Tori turned her eyes up to hers. "The thing is, I know that's what she does. I know why she does it…I also know it's the reason she doesn't come to church on Sunday. I paint my family in bad light sometimes, sure, but I don't embellish. I don't make them seem half as full of shit as they are-you'll forgive me for cursing in church."

"I understand." Sam leaned forward, studying Tori's eyes closely.

"I just…Trina doesn't know that I know." Tori's body trembled once and her eyes darted away quickly. "I was curious why she always left the house at night and wouldn't come home until midnight or later. Once I voiced my curiosity to my friends-the _stupidest_ ass mistake I ever made!" Tori clenched her hands and shook her head.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Sam understood curiosity, and she understood it wasn't Tori's fault for being curious. Granted she wouldn't like for someone else to say anything about her activities back when she was doing the same thing, so Trina likely wouldn't either. "It was an honest mistake."

"Yeah well. I followed her one night." Tori leaned back and moved her hand over her mouth. Her eyes started to mist and she quickly shook her head. "The things I saw her do-the things I saw those men do to her…"

"You watched?"

"I didn't _watch_, I looked in the fucking window. I couldn't look away! S-She was acting like she enjoyed it." The story broke Sam's heart. She would never want Melanie to have to see the things that she'd done, and it had been her father that discovered her life when investigating some website. "I haven't told my friends that-and how could I? No, why would I?"

"Good." Sam moved her hand to her chest and breathed in slowly. "That's not something they need to know, and I don't believe your sister would appreciate it either. Why are you telling me?"

"I want help. I want her to get help, but I know if I say anything she's just going to deny it or get pissed that I would even involve myself in her life." Tori pulled her hands away from the table and narrowed her eyes. "I know I have the same means of escape, but not prostitution-I could never…never do that. I sing on stage, I perform, I love the attention it gives me-the applause it brings. So much I can't get at home! But prostitution?"

"Let me ask you." A wrinkle formed between her brows and she began to miss the fact that she hadn't brought her journal with her. Sometimes it was best not to write anything down, though. Better for the client. "How different is the attention you receive from people watching you sing and dance onstage as opposed to the attention that perhaps a stripper or prostitute would receive? A stripper still works in the sex industry, but still performs on a stage in front of an active audience."

"True. I guess they're still receiving attention where they're unable to elsewhere."

"Right. Only it isn't always healthy, just like the attention that you receive may not always be healthy." Tori jerked back and raised her eyebrows.

"I don't understand."

"It's easy." Sam exhaled and watched as an attentive expression fell over Tori's face. The thrill of an audience meant you would want to do more to please them, the same performance repeated would come to bore them. Therefore a performance calls for something new, something exciting. "In the end it's about self-control, Tori. How far are you willing to push yourself and how thin will the gap between that lust for attention and your morals grow? Look at Miley Cyrus, she was once reserved was she not?"

"Probably more than she is now. Now she's become almost like a-" Tori stopped herself and Sam's lips turned up into a gentle smirk. She nodded once and crossed her arms.

"Go ahead and say it. What does she appear like now?"

"A stripper. Then the moves she was doing in that video." Tori clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. "Those music producers are almost like glorified pimps letting her sell her body to the world." Tori's eyes shot open and she spoke up quickly. "But I would never-"

"I'm not saying that you'd ever go so far, but think about what drives people like that. What is at the center, the core? Besides money, what do they love? Not just her either, others like Lady Gaga, Rhianna, Beyoncé?"

"Attention and love from the audience."

"Right, and so they must come up with new material. What's a phrase you hear common throughout media today? 'Sex sells'. So you have a few like Miley Cyrus that decide to all but have sex on stage which increases viewership. The lust for that attention becomes so great that you're willing to do just about anything to get more. I guarantee you it's not solely the fault of the producers either, because every singer out there-every actor and actress has the willpower to say no and turn down the request to cross that line."

"I…once was approached by a producer that wanted me to dress up in scanty outfits and change everything about me."

"What happened?"

"I turned down the opportunity. I walked away. It was tempting as hell but…I just couldn't do that."

"My point. Though there are some people who can't make that distinction, some people who get so hooked on attention they let themselves get so far that there's no foreseeable way out."

"Yeah…but back to my sister. Do-Do you think you can help her?"

"Someone has to want to be helped, Tori." Tori frowned and Sam bowed her head. "I can't make Trina want to be helped, she has to want it, but I'm glad you're at least wanting to get her that. Then in order to make a change that person has to try."

"But…I don't want something bad to happen to her. Can't you at least talk to her?"

"I can try, but it could be like trying to drill into a block of concrete with a pencil." Tori scrunched her face. She'd been where she didn't want to hear anything about her lifestyle choice, and the only thing that got her to open up to needing help was when her family kicked her out. Then without Jonah and Valerie taking her in-albeit reluctantly on Jonah's part, and their putting strict blocks on everything from the computer to her personal life, she would have fell right back into it. "Someone won't be willing to hear something until they know they need it."

"And just what would make that happen? What would make someone like my sister open up?"

"Honest truth?" She hated to say it, especially to a concerned relative that Tori was. She knew the girl wasn't going to open herself to help right away, she hoped it wouldn't be too late and that she could find a way to get through to Trina-or at least help Tori gain the tools to do the job herself. "Sometimes it takes a sledgehammer to break open a block of concrete. Not to mention, someone can't receive help without help from others…"

"I see." There was a knock at the door and Tori looked over her shoulder. Someone had seen them go in. The person spoke from behind the door, letting them know the service was about to begin. "That's the choir director. I should go." Tori pat the table with her hands and sighed. "My friends-Cat included-are having a poker game Monday afternoon. Please come? Trina will be there."

"She's met me, she might be a little uneasy seeing me."

"So what? You don't have to say you know me, just that you're Cat's roommate and I extended an invite to you. Trina leaves to her…'job'…at seven. Please come, you don't have to try and counsel her, just be there."

She could definitely try and keep Trina from leaving, but it wouldn't always work. Knowing her own experience in the sex industry, unless there was a john controlling the situation or they worked at a strip club, the amount of work a prostitute did could rely on whether the person felt like working that night. If she could at least approach Trina offering an olive branch in the form of friendship first, then maybe she could get the girl's interest level to a point where she did not leave that night.

"Okay." Sam sm`iled at Tori and stood up from the table. "I'll at least try. Cat's not too happy with you guys right now, though." Tori frowned and looked away with a sigh.

"I was afraid of that, but I understand. She's really been upset with us a lot lately, but with how my friends act-yeah…you think she'll turn down the offer of poker?"

"Well if she does I'll try to talk her back into it. If I go over to your house, she absolutely must be there."

"Thank you, Sam. Honestly."

* * *

Tori's reaching out is definitely good, if there is someone trying to help then that's more support for a person when they start to get the help they need. In this, Sam is what the grad students at my college's Psych students are, not a fully established counselor yet but still a counselor in full right. She may refer people to someone that can help out-other people instead of just the Vega clan will likely seek her out in that respect. Your thoughts on this chapter.


	6. A Little Attention Goes Far

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 6 (A Little Attention Goes Far)

The next afternoon Sam and Cat were getting ready to head over to the Vega house. Cat didn't want to go, but she decided it was better to at least appear cordial, so there wasn't much need to try and convince Cat to go. Before they left, Sam could hear Cat talking to somebody. She looked around the corner and smiled when she saw Dice in the kitchen.

Something was different about him though, he was speaking in a quiet voice and had his hands in his pocket. His head was bowed and his face held a nervous sweat. "Thanks for the help," Dice looked up to Cat and shrugged. "I didn't want to bother you but I couldn't think of anyone else to ask."

"Well you know you can come over if you need money, just not much." Cat threw an empty can of soup into the trash bin. "I know you don't usually ask for money and it's not much, so I'm happy to help out if you need to."

"Yeah, again thanks. My aunt really needs that cream." Dice scratched the back of his head and looked around nervously. "So uh, you said Sam was taking a nap before you guys left?"

"Yes, but she's probably awake by now. Did you want her for something?"

"No." His answer came out with a rushed tone that startled Sam when she heard him. She scrunched her nose and furrowed her brow as a sharp pain hit her in the chest. Cat's lips formed an oval and Dice removed his hands, waving them in the air. "I really don't want to bother her, that's all. I know you say she's busy and everything."

Sam's eyes slanted and she quickly stepped around the corner, moving casually. "Not too busy for our favorite little munchkin." Dice spun around and his eyes grew large.

"I-I am not a dwarf! I'm an average size for my age."

"Aw isn't that cute?" She pinched his cheek and smirked dangerously as he recoiled. "Shorty's getting offended. Should I be offended that you're avoiding me?"

"What? No! I wouldn't-I'm not avoiding you! You guys are my only friends." He paused and snapped his fingers. "Scratch that-my only friends with a brain, Goomer's been hit in the head too many times." Sam crossed her arms and watched as Dice fidgeted and looked towards the door.

"You are avoiding me, and I want to know why, Dice. The only reason you came over was to ask for money, and you look so pale that you could faint at any minute."

"Pale?" He felt his forehead and cheeks, then groaned. "Well I definitely have been feeling sick lately. I'm coming down with something and I don't want you guys to catch it." He made his way to the door and looked back over his shoulder. "Again, thanks for the help!"

"No problem," Cat chimed. Sam put her elbow on the counter and waved as Dice ran out the door. "What was that about, Sam? I don't think he's avoiding us." She could tell he was gravely upset about something, and while she feared it, she had a bad feeling in her gut that he might have found something that he should never have seen. "He's just sick, that's what he said earlier."

"Yeah well, I'm not sure that sickness is a contagious one…" She shook her head and grabbed her jacket from the couch. "But whatever, let's get to your friend's place."

"Why does Tori want you there?"

"I honestly can't say."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Confidential."

"Yeah." Cat nodded once and tugged her lips back into a line. "That's what I thought. Decided to make clients out of the Vega's after all."

"Tori asked, that much is evident."

"Help one you'll have to help them all." Sam raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Cat walked around the counter and grabbed her purse off the table. "Like I said, that family's got problems up to your chin. You sift through the muck of one Vega, you need to help them all-and I'm not sure they're worth it. If they can even be helped." Sam rolled her head to the right and exhaled as a deep sorrow lifted up.

"Nobody is beyond help, Cat."

"I know, I know, but with them…you probably ought to leave them to a professional."

"I am a professional."

"I mean a seasoned one…"

"I won't give up on them, Cat." Cat smiled sadly and closed her eyes, shrugging gently. It was clear the girl's anger with the Vega clan ran deep, but Sam could not allow the bitterness of one person to stop her. "I'm a counselor, I have to help." She couldn't afford bias. "If I don't try to help where they need me, then what does that say about me as a counselor?"

"You're right, it's just-" Cat took a deep breath and started for the door. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

At the Vega house Trina met them with a smile. Her friends had already arrived, and none looked too pleased to see her there. While Cat moved to the table with the others, Sam sat in the recliner.

She made careful observations of the friends, studying their body language for sake of practice. They had been leaning back in a relaxed state, but now they were hunched forward and tense. Every so often someone would glance at her, and when they saw her staring, they'd look away.

"You can all relax," Sam stated abruptly, "I'm not here to grill you or make you feel uncomfortable. Tori and Cat asked me over."

"So why don't you join the poker game?" Beck asked. Jade shot him a glare and he sank in his seat. "Someone has to offer, Jade."

"It's alright." Sam hung her arm over the armrest and looked towards the stairs. "I'm not a big fan of poker." She could hear voices coming from a room nearby, calling her attention to a door. In the corner of her eyes, Tori let her shoulders fall and exhaled sharply.

The voices belonged clearly to a couple of adults, both were yelling profanities. There were noises that implied items being thrown against the wall. Tori spoke loudly to keep her friends interested, but the way they were sitting-now comfortably-implied they were used to this.

After several seconds, Holly stormed out of the room. She was wearing a dark purple shirt and jeans, her red purse hung from her left shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she had on copious amounts of makeup as though she were going out on a date.

"Hey mom," Tori stated. Holly let out a grunt and raced out the front door. Tori met Sam's eyes and bounced her head to the door. Sam nodded back at her and looked at the room Holly left from.

The inside appeared to be a study of some sort. There was a desk littered with stacks of paper and small laptop. Above this desk was a framed photo of a happy couple and two young children. A painful sensation stabbed at her as she studied the photo. "Such a shame," she whispered.

David stepped in the doorway and scowled at the group for a second before slamming the door shut. Sam shook her head and looked back to the steps, seeing Trina standing at the top step. She had a long ponytail and was wearing a short tank top and a matching skirt. "Well glad that's over with!" Trina exclaimed. The friends groaned at her and Tori twisted to face her.

"You're not going out too are you?"

"In a little bit." Trina started down the steps and shot a glance at Sam, freezing as recognition glimmered in her eyes. "Hey. It's you! What are you doing here?"

"I'm Cat's roommate." Sam crossed her legs and smiled politely at the girl. "She invited me to tag along." Trina made her way over and sat on the side of the couch closest to the recliner.

"Oh. Well regardless, it's…interesting to see you again." Trina flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked towards the door to her father's office. "I know you're a counselor type, but don't try to figure my family out. Mom and Dad have been like that for years now."

"Must be rough."

Trina chuckled sorely and looked back. "You want rough? A couple years ago they sent both me, and Tori, away to separate camps. Tori goes to a bible camp and I was sent to some karate camp. We were annoyed because they were fighting so much, Mom started cheating on Dad and he started focusing on his job so much."

"So they sent you two away because you complained?"

"Yep. How fucked up is that?" Trina leaned back in the couch and shrugged. It was harsh indeed, but surely there could be worse places to be sent to. Although the hard part of it was their own parents sent them away just because they wanted a little more attention. "I probably got more out of my camp than Tori, probably."

This could be a key conversation to start a prospective friendship on, or at least keep Trina from heading out. With that in the back of her mind, Sam decided to push forward. Tori had already let her know she'd try to do something to keep Trina from leaving, but this was a start.

"Tell me more about your experience at camp." Trina raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"You're really interested in that part of my life?"

"Sure, I mean it sounds like you had a good time there if you say you got more out of your experience than Tori did hers." Trina laughed and leaned forward.

"Well okay. I've never had anyone take an interest in that-or me in general." Sam smiled at this and acknowledged with a nod. This was familiar to her since that reasoning was a big reason she'd dealt into the lifestyle that she'd been in. If someone had shown they really gave a damn about her life, if her family had taken an interest in her sooner and stopped focusing on Melanie so much, then maybe she wouldn't have fallen into that life. For Trina it appeared to be the same way, though neither parents took an interest in either girl from what it appeared.

"Well what are you waiting for? I'd like to know how karate camp was. I've always pictured it to be boring?"

"Boring?" Trina scoffed and ripped out a loud laugh, startling the others. A smirk flashed on Trina's face and she lifted her shoulders. "Well I learned a little about martial arts there, I've never had so much fun. Not to mention this cute boy that was there."

"Oh? Do tell."

"There isn't much to tell. I don't imagine he'd want a thing to do with me _now_, but back then?" Trina leaned to the right and fanned herself with her hand. "Hot as hell. I think I was all he was into at the camp."

"You were into him?"

Trina put her hands to the couch and pushed herself back into the couch. "Was I ever!" The girl took a long pause, her eyebrows curled inwards and her mouth fell along with her shoulders. She bowed her head and sighed before glancing to the clock on the television. "I should probably go, though…it's getting late." Sam's heart stopped and she saw Tori look over with wide eyes.

Thinking fast, Sam reached forward, hovering her hand carefully over Trina's wrist. "No please." Trina looked to her hand, then looked into Sam's eyes with a perplexed look. "You haven't told me much, I'm still very interested in this camp."

"Yeah but, I don't like talking about the guy."

"So don't, just tell me about the camp. Do you really have to go?"

"I…" Trina's brow furrowed and her hands fell beside her legs. "I guess not. I have a little time to talk. I don't have anywhere to be if you're really interested."

"Trina." Sam beamed with pride and curved her lips into a full smile. She could see Tori watching closely from the table, appearing ready to cry out in joy. As long as she kept this girl talking, she would not be leaving this house. Besides, why go and get attention from people prowling the streets for sex when she had attention right here? "You've got my full, undivided attention."

* * *

It's definitely a start. Friendship is a good way to get a trust going so they'll be more apt to listen and come in times of difficulty. In this instance, coupled with Sam's own past experience, Trina may eventually come to her for counsel. We'll have to see, but this is a good starting point. Also a good chance to see what the situation is with the Vega clan.


	7. Cat's Lament

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 7 (Cat's Lament)

"I suppose I shouldn't ask if you did anything Tori wanted you to do." Cat removed the purse from her shoulder and looked towards Sam. "You spent the entire night talking to Trina." True, Tori's friends likely wondered why she was there if all she was doing was talking to the elder sister, but for the night her mission was a success and Trina wound up having supper at the house before heading upstairs to bed.

"Yeah, you don't need to worry about it, Cat."

Cat grabbed the television remote and fell back onto the couch. "You and Trina friends now?"

"Yeah." Trina had given Sam her phone number so they could chat. It was a start, and of course she hoped to utilize it to help prevent Trina from going out as often. She couldn't stop the girl from everything, but at the very least she could minimize the opportunity Trina had. Which, according to both Tori and Trina, it was every second, fourth and sixth day of the week. Trina also mentioned the typical time frame she went out those nights. "Hopefully we can become friends."

"Friends, or counselor?"

"Why not both?" When she becomes a full blown counselor, she wouldn't be able to be friends with her clients outside of work. Right now, however, that was not the case. "I'm still just studying right now."

"Uh huh. Well, if you insist on getting involved with the Vega's and their problems, I won't argue. Trina needs a friend, from what I understand. I don't think she has any." Cat kicked her heels up on the coffee table and turned on the television. Her lips spread into a scowl and she huffed once. "Who can blame her? The rumors spread by Tori's friends, and the way they treated her in the past turns people away because it makes them think something's wrong with Trina. They do not realize how much power of influence they have."

"So you're saying they unintentionally influence people to push someone away?"

"Oh yeah. Hello, Sinjin called us the popular crowd." Cat turned her head and cocked a half smile. "Remember your days in high school? What do people want to do when they see someone associating with the popular crowd?"

"They want to talk to that person." And those turned away from the popular crowd can oftentimes be ostracized-especially if said crowd makes it so. "Have the others ever built up or torn down anyone to others?"

"Oh yes. With Sinjin they would tell people he was gross and no one would talk to the guy. With Trina it was similar, they'd tear her apart to people and so no one wanted anything to do with the girl. Why? Because 'Jade, Beck, Andre, or Tori said you were such and such'." Cat set the remote on her leg and snapped her fingers. "Want to know why people started associating with me or Robbie? We were part of the 'in' crowd. People didn't give a shit how obscene we were."

"I see." Therein lied the potential for the opportunities Trina had. Without someone there to give her something to do, she was reliant on boredom. For Sam, if Carly hadn't gotten involved in that lifestyle she could have provided more of a means to keep Sam out of the life. She got into it since Carly got involved first. "So your friends become enablers without realizing it…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You know what's weird?" Sam took a seat and shook her head at Cat. "For as much grief as Tori talks about her family-including her sister-she never spends a single Saturday with us. Why? She spends Saturday with Trina."

"I was under the impression she didn't care for her sister."

"So are we, but there's this tradition Tori says she and Trina started many years ago. They never stopped even as the family unit seemed to crumple up. Every Saturday is 'sister day', they pick an activity-whether it's shopping, movies, going out to eat-and they spend the entire day together."

"Sounds pleasant, actually. Melanie and I would do stuff like that, but we never had any kind of day planned out. Did you ever do stuff like that with your brothers?"

"Just my older brotherbefore he went overseas" Cat shifted her gaze over. "Your fiancé is overseas, right?"

"Yep. Derek won't be back for a while."

"I see. You don't talk much about him." There wasn't much to say on the issue that how they met and fell in love would involve telling Cat about the past she had. She didn't want to lie and make up a story.

"Derek was there for me during a time when most men would turn away." Cat's lips turned to a circle, then a gradual smile. This was the closest to the truth that Sam could get. Derek had been a friend of Jonah's and Valerie, she met him after the couple let her move in with them. He was attracted to her not because of her body, and he stayed with her even after learning that she'd been into pornography. "Carly's husband was the same way. Though, a bit different."

"I see." Douglas had been the one to get them involved in the life to begin with. Carly started dating him, and since he was a gang member he started out doing what his father and Carlos wanted by getting a couple girls 'initiated' into the sex industry so they could be taken into the gang's prostitution ring. He fell in love with Carly after a while and tried to get the girls out of that life before the rest of the gang could sink their claws into them.

"The group heard Trina's excitement at the start of the conversation over some guy…that was before you guys got quiet. What was that about?"

"She wouldn't go into detail." Sam was curious about the man as well. What would the chances be of the man being like Derek was to Sam? Then again, a summer fling at the camp-the chances of ever meeting that guy again were slim to none. "She stopped talking about him as quickly as she brought him up."

"You think maybe she's afraid to be with someone?" Sam raised an eyebrow and stared at Cat. There was a good reason Trina wouldn't want to be with someone on a more intimate and emotional level, but likely not in the way Cat was thinking. "Every guy that she's ever been interested in has either turned her down or she's dumped because one of the others told her no guy was legitimately interested in 'someone like her'."

"Harsh."

"I know. Even I'm guilty of it…" Her heart fell and she crossed her arms across her chest. Cat rubbed her neck and sighed heavily. "There was this guy…he was going to take Trina out for dinner, then out of the blue he came to us-Robbie and myself-and had us dump her in song."

She scratched her ear and turned away. "Come again?" It was hard to believe Cat would be enticed into doing something like that to somebody, but if it was with Robbie, there was a chance that Robbie persuaded her to go through with it. Though of all ways to dump someone for somebody else, doing it in song was almost like saying 'fuck you' to somebody. "We'll skip the fact that the guy in the situation is a fucking asshole, but you did the dumping in _song?"_

"We were doing this stupid singing telegram thing. I know it was wrong, and yeah the dude was a prick for it. Trina ended up smashing Robbie's guitar though." Cat chuckled and shook her head. "I…never got a chance to apologize to Trina for that. I even talked to Robbie about it, he says if anyone should apologize it's the guy that dumped her."

"Cat. Dear. You and Robbie did the dumping-in a very thoughtless way." She started to pull out her phone, thinking an apology from Cat would be a benefit to Trina's psyche. She stopped when she figured maybe it was so long ago that Trina wouldn't want it brought up. "Really if an apology is warranted, it's from you two."

"I know. I don't know if it would make things better, but you know…it really wasn't fair to her."

"I am truly glad you realize that. You could very well have pressed the whole 'no guy will ever like you' issue that you say your friends do." Cat turned her eyes towards her feet and swayed her shoes from side to side.

"I know. I had a scary thought the other day."

"What?"

"What if Andre and the others were right about their assumptions in her?" Sam hesitated as Cat looked into her eyes with a great deal of torment. "What if Trina _did _turn to prostitution to get away from her family problems? I don't want to think that would happen, but what if? It's bad enough people have often told her no guy would ever like her-which couldn't be further from the truth-but if she turned to prostitution then…"

Sam breathed in slowly and looked towards the television. "Yeah Cat. What if?" She had an answer, and it wasn't an easy one. The sex industry can easily desensitize one to emotions such as love and trust, especially with the number of men that are literally giving someone attention solely for sex. It's hard then to picture anyone giving someone attention out of love-it becomes difficult to understand what love is.

Going in already with the impression that no one would truly care about you on an emotional level would only fuel this process like oil to a burning flame. For Sam, it took so much energy and time from Derek to show her that he was genuine in his love for her.

She heard a squeaking sound and glanced over to see Cat's eyes growing misty. "Sam…I know we're speaking hypothetically, right? So…you're a counselor, you're into psychology-what would happen if that was the case?"

"Then it would be very hard for her to see and trust a man that genuinely cares for her. Difficult to know what love is anymore and hard for one that loves her to prove it. Her image of what a man wants in her could be skewed." Cat held her breath and pressed her lips together. Sam smiled sadly and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for anything, Cat."

"I wish I told that asshole to go fuck himself. Robbie too because he was the one that wanted to go through with it even after acknowledging it was a dick move!" Cat turned her eyes to the purse between the two of them. She mumbled something then reached for it. "Fuck it."

"What are you doing?"

"Calling Trina!" Sam started to stop her, but seeing the determination on the girl's face, she pulled back. The girl removed her cell phone and dialed a number, striking the speaker phone once it began to ring.

After four rings, Trina answered in a groggy tone. "Hello? Who's calling me?"

"Trina hi, it's me, Cat…"

"Cat? I'm sleeping. Or was. What do you want?"

"I was doing some thinking." Cat sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "Evaluating things in my mind. Do you-do you remember that time Robbie and I sang to you?"

"Um…"

"That guy, Seth."

"Oh yeah, the guy didn't have the audacity to dump me in person. I remember. Should've bashed Robbie with the guitar instead of the tree outside." Sam stifled a laugh and Cat shook her head. "Why?"

"I just…I was thinking about all the stuff my friends say and do-and I know how it affects other people around us. I wanted to apologize. Especially for the part I played in that whole thing with Seth."

"Cat, you really don't-"

"I need to. I'm sorry. I don't want you to think that no man will ever want you."

Trina chuckled softly. "Men want me. Some women too, but I'm not into that." Cat's nose twitched and she looked to Sam with an arched eyebrow. Sam waved her hand in the air, dismissing it as Trina likely being too asleep to think.

"Yeah well, I mean emotionally, Trina. On a deep level. You're a great person, you're beautiful, no man in their right mind wouldn't fall in love with you-Seth was insane to turn you down like that. I happen to think you're a good person, so don't you listen to your sister's friends. They don't know anything. You're as capable of being loved by any guy as anyone else is."

"Yeah. Right. I…hope not. I feel sorry for any man that falls for me."

"Trina, that's not true-there's no truth to what the others have said."

"That's coming from me, not them." Trina let out a loud yawn. "I'm going back to bed now. Goodnight Cat. Thanks for the…you know." The phone beeped and Cat frowned. Sam reached over and rubbed her back.

"Do you feel better now that that's off your chest?"

"Actually, I do. Though, hearing what Trina said…I-do you think it's too late?"

"Well, nothing is ever 'too late', but keep in mind Trina's half asleep right now."

"Yeah. I hope it's not too late. Maybe I could try being her friend too if you're going to?"

"Always possible. I think you'd be a great friend for her to have around."

* * *

A good decision on Cat's part there I'm sure, at least she got that over with even though Trina was half asleep and a little startled.


	8. Morning Talk

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 8 (Morning Talk)

Waking the next day Sam came across an urgent sounding text from Trina, which consisted of only the words 'help me'. Worried something may be wrong, Sam called her. When Trina answered, she sounded more annoyed than upset. "I usually work on Wednesdays, but Tori's got this performance she's doing that night. She's making me go."

"Oh." Sam chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Is that all?"

"Is that all? It's going to be boring as shit." Sam chuckled at Trina's dead serious tone. "It isn't funny! I've got stuff to do but she's insisting, so I'm going to go just to get her to stop hassling me, but I don't want to go alone because I'm going to be bored as hell. Would it be okay if I asked you to tag along tomorrow? As a friend to keep me occupied with anything other than my boredom?"

"I'd be happy to. It can't be that bad." Trina hissed at her, causing her to chuckle again.

"You don't know my sister. She only sings annoying pop music, rarely anything else. Country? Nope. Rock? Not a chance. Now if she tried rap that would be something…but _no_, it has to be bloody pop!" While she felt for Trina, she was grateful that Tori was giving this opportunity. She preferred country to pop any day, but she wasn't about to turn this down.

"Let's appease your sister and go to her performance. What's the worst that can happen?" Trina paused for what a long time, and when Sam was about to say something more, Trina replied.

"I fall asleep and wake up to find myself surrounded by rabid preteens feeling me up for items of value that they can pawn off to the nearest merchant?" It was an interesting choice, though she couldn't help to wonder why she thought of preteens in a situation that seemed more appropriate for homeless people or robbers in general.

"Why preteens, Trina?"

"What person in their right mind goes to a performance at a high school by a former student singing other artists' pop music?"

"Good point." Sam paused for the moment and sat up, leaning against the headboard. "So what are you doing today? You don't work, do you?"

"No." Trina let out a groan. Sam's heart lifted and the girl cleared her throat. "Tuesdays and Thursdays are strange days for Tori and myself. On Tuesday, mom stays home and makes me go through the house-literally cleaning every fucking inch while dad takes Tori out to dinner. On Thursday it's reversed, mom makes Tori do the cleaning while Dad takes me out."

"Oh…well at least your father's doing something with you guys."

"It's just for appearance, really." Sam frowned at the words and looked idly at Cat's empty bed. She took a deep breath and waited as Trina went on to elaborate. "Dad's got to be seen with us, but he also legitimately tries to get us to think he cares about us by taking us out. It's just, well, good luck talking to that man about anything, he never takes a genuine interest in either one of our lives it seems." Trina paused for another moment. Sam listened as the girl dropped something on a surface.  
"Well, I suppose he should get credit for 'trying' right? Mom's idea of quality time with her daughters is 'let's clean the house! I'll sit and do my nails while you do all the work!' Real fuckin' perfect, Mom."

"At least you and Tori have Saturday. Right?" She heard Trina laugh and was happy to hear a happier tune in the girl's voice.

"I suppose so. Tori and I started that tradition many years ago. You know mom and dad separated once when we were kids?" Her eyebrows drifted up. She pushed the covers off and threw her legs off the bed. "Mom and dad got back together so they avoided a divorce. Tori and I had been separated in the process-for some reason Mom took me and left her with Dad. When we got back together it was Saturday morning. From that point on we decided to devote every Saturday to each other should it happen again that we're separated because of our parents."

"Wow. That's devotion." Or at least that's what it sounded like, and it was a good tradition to keep up. Hearing this made her understand more about why Tori reached out to her to help Trina. "You guys kept that up for all these years?"

"Yeah. I mean we forgot some Saturdays just because it's hard to stick to it every single week, but we did our best. We still spend the day together."

"Mind if I ask about Sunday?"

"Tori told me she invited you and Cat to church, I guess you're wondering why I don't go. That should be obvious-being that you're a former, well…you know. Or are you wondering what I do?"

"Yes."

"Lounge around the house usually. Sometimes I go for a jog, sometimes I practice up on martial arts. I don't work Sundays, in case you were wondering." There was a pause, followed by the sound of a soft ball hitting a wall. "Sam, can I ask something?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking about Cat's phone call last night. Love…Have you ever felt it?" She took a deep breath and contemplated her answer.

"I have. As a matter of fact, I'm engaged to the very man. He is in the army like I am, but I opted for a career path as a counselor. Derek is overseas right now."

"You miss him then?"

"I do."

"And he…trusts you?" She could hear the sense of hesitancy mixed with urgency in Trina's question. It was obvious why she would ask that, knowing about Sam's past. "If that's personal-"

"It's fine. Yes he trusts me. Derek knows I'm out of that life and have no intention of going back. He was the one that persisted. I had a very difficult time believing in love or learning to trust, and he was there-never relenting. I don't know why, and though he tells me all the time, I suppose I'll never completely get it."

Then came the longest pause of all, making Sam check her phone eventually to make sure she was still connected. There was a quivering breathing noise on Trina's end, so she waited patiently for the girl to say what she was thinking.

"What. What is it like?"

"Have you never been in love, Trina?"

"…Once, and only once."

"Do you remember anything about the feeling?"

"I try not to. I'd like to forget. Makes my job easier. Not to mention that man wouldn't want anything to do with me, I'm a prostitute. I may force people to use protection or show proof that they're clean, but sex is sex to most guys. If he knew…"

"You never know. He could be what Derek was to me."

Trina took a deep breath and immediately protested. "No. I'm no one's love. I sell my body for a living, I'm not worth any man's wasted breath." Sam moved her hand up to her chest as Trina began to repeat herself. "I just have to keep saying what so many others have told me. No one likes me, I'm a worthless waste of space. Should never…never have been."

"Trina."

"No, I shouldn't have asked you that. I don't like thinking about him, it…it hurts. See you at Tori's concert tomorrow, Sam. It's at seven. Cat can tell you where Hollywood Arts is. I'll wait by the school's front doors."

"Okay." When the phone clicked off, Sam pulled it from her ear. For a flicker of a moment, she thought a breakthrough had been made. It was clear to her now how much damage the lifestyle Trina was living had impacted her. "She's relying too much on hiding behind that life. It'll destroy her if she keeps it up…"

The fact that Cat's talk with Trina had gotten through to her, making her ask the question she had was a grand sign. The girl wasn't lost yet, but she was in denial. Or at the least guarded to the point she's shutting out familiar emotions that ought not to be foreign.

"Alright," Sam exhaled slowly and moved towards her closet. "Got to be patient. Cannot rush the process. She will come around when she's ready. Until then, I must be patient and able."

"Sam?" She flinched and looked to the doorway where Cat was standing. "I thought I heard you on the phone. You just missed Dice, sort of, Goomer came over to let us know that Dice was selling tickets to a magic show and was curious if we wanted some."

Sam folded her arms over her chest and studied Cat with great skepticism. "Dice wouldn't come on his own?"

"Evidently he's still recovering from his illness." This was bordering absurdity. There was no conceivable way he was avoiding them just because he claimed to be sick, he'd come around when he was sick before. "You should have told Goomer to tell Dice to get his ass over here and talk to me. I don't appreciate people avoiding me. It makes me extremely uncomfortable."

"Goomer's still in the living room, I'll go let him know Dice is making you uncomfortable."

"Thanks." She put her hands to her waist and shook her head as Cat left the room. "I swear to god, teenagers are the strangest people." She had to remember she was once a teenager, though she'd never been a male going through puberty. There was always a chance, or at least she hoped it was only that chance, that Dice was starting to see women in a way that made him shy away from them.

Still, it didn't explain why he was okay with seeing Cat the other day and not her. There was only one explanation for it. As she thought on it, her stomach churned and her teeth ground together. "I hope to god he isn't avoiding me because he found something he shouldn't." She clenched her fists and started out the door. "If that's the case, he needs to fess up. At least let me know if he wants nothing more to do with me!"

For her, avoidance and silence was the worst way to end a relationship. It was more painful trying to be upset over not knowing why than it was to know the reason. Then, she knew she needed to practice patience with even Dice, this avoidance may not be as bad as she thought. If it was what she suspected, he could very well be trying to recover. She had to give him a chance to explain, if he ever decided to show his face.

* * *

So a good chat with Trina, it would appear.


	9. Seeking Council

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 9 (Seeking Counsel)

Walking into the living room, she saw Jade sitting on the couch. Her muscles tensed as the girl's piercing brown eyes drifted to her. "Good morning," Jade stated abruptly, "You just missed the dumber portion of dumb and dumber." Of course she was speaking about Goomer, but Sam remained unaffected.

"Cat didn't mention you were over."

"Just got here." She followed her wavering gaze to the kitchen where half-eaten pancakes were. "Cat left the room, didn't want to talk to me." Jade rolled her head back and exhaled slowly. "Kind of wanted to talk to you, though." Sam responded with a curt nod and moved over to the couch.

"Cat isn't too thrilled with you guys." She squinted and studied Jade closely. The girl was speaking in a slurred manner and her chest was moving much slower than normal. She had red patches on her skin indicative of scratching, and the tone to her skin was abnormally pale. "You alright, Jade?"

Jade's head shot up and her eyes widened. "What?" Sam noted the girl's pupils were incredibly small. All these signs were concerning. Her expression softened and she moved her hand towards her pant pocket. "Right, I came to talk to you, not Cat."

"I'm here. What's the matter, Jade?"

"You're a counselor. That's established." Jade removed her hand from her pocket, she was holding a small white cylinder. Sam's heart fell when she spotted the painkiller, it was as she feared. "I need help."

She stretched her hand out, holding her palm upright. Her eyes locked with Jade's and watched as the girl studied her hand. "Let me have the bottle?" The girl didn't look as bad as Carly had when they found her, but still an addiction to painkillers was devastating. Once she had the pills, she pulled her hand back and looked down at them. "Oxycodone."

Oxycodone was a painkiller designed to treat moderate to severe pain and it was an opioid. Jade nodded slowly and began to shiver. "I take anti-depressants, I take anxiety medication, and painkillers. It eases things, makes me feel good-makes me feel better. I need help, Sam."

"You're not wearing any makeup either, I see."

"No. This is me." Jade spread her arms out and locked her jaw. "I-I got into a fight with Beck. Over my dependency to them." Sam set the bottle down beside her legs and smiled politely at Jade. "I didn't think I had a problem, and he wouldn't stop saying I did. I-I hit him." The girl brought her hands up to her face and stared at them with a trembling gaze.

"You hit your boyfriend?" Seeing this as not just a cry for help but a possible counseling session, Sam glanced around to ensure Cat wasn't around. "Let me start off by saying anything you tell me is between me and you, okay?" Jade's hands fell to her knees and she choked out a sob. "Would you like to go to the back room? There's more privacy and Cat will not overhear."

"I think I'd appreciate that. So you'll talk to me? Listen?"

"I will." They moved to the back bedroom and met Cat while she was on her way out of the bedroom. Sam asked her to stay in the kitchen and living room, so the girl obliged. Once in the secure location, Jade took a seat on Sam's bed and leaned up against the headboard. She was in position directly in front of Sam, who was sitting down at her desk. "So tell me about this fight with Beck. Why did you hit him?"

"Because he wouldn't stop telling me I had a problem. Which clearly I do." Jade threw her arm out and pointed to the pills. A weakened whimper left her lips and she pulled her arm back in a quick motion. "That's when I remembered you said you were a counselor."

"I'm not a fully established one yet."

"Yeah well, I don't feel comfortable going to Lane. Not many of us do. Besides, I'd rather talk to a female." There was nothing wrong with that, and Sam wasn't going to turn anyone away. At the same time, she knew there were times when she may have to refer her to someone else. At her boss's place there were several counselors, male and female, that could help Jade out.

"Okay, I understand. So why do you take all these medications?"

Jade's muscles tensed and her mouth twisted into a scowl. "You're the counselor, shouldn't you know?" She did know, but the idea was to get her talking.

"I want you to tell me."

"Okay, fine." She folded her hands over her waist and closed her eyes. "Mom has always been abusive to my dad, to me. I ended up taking painkillers to make it easier, so I didn't have to feel anything. They worked, physically…emotionally."

"So you became dependent on them?"

"They were the only answer I had. I'm old enough now that I could move out, but I can't find a job anywhere." Sam looked to the top drawer of her desk where she kept many of her brochures. There was a brochure on _Save Haven_, which was a place that anyone, men or women could go to and seek shelter. "When I hit Beck, I saw…I saw I was becoming like my mom, and I don't want that!" Sam turned her eyes to Jade and saw the girl shaking her head frantically. "I don't want to be dependent on those pills, but I've heard stories-things people go through when they get off. I'm scared."

"Then it's better to start now before it gets out of hand." She opened the drawer and removed one of the flyers in the front. "I would like to give you something that will be a good tool for you to use." Jade leaned forward, her eyes studied the brochure with intrigue.

"What's that for?"

"Save Haven, it is a shelter for men and women that are victims of domestic violence, recovering drug addicts, and-" She saw the girl twitch and lowered the brochure to her lap. Jade rubbed her arm and slowly shook her head. "What is the matter?"

"I don't like thinking of myself as a drug addict."

"I understand." Sam raised an eyebrow and met Jade's wavering gaze. "Sometimes it is not always a bad thing. When you think about it, just understand that you have an addiction to something-we are all addicted to something." Jade crinkled her nose and furrowed her brow. "You know that Cat has an addiction to that Bibble stuff."

Jade laughed and quickly swept a tear from her eye. "Yeah. I don't get it, I can't stand it." Sam curled up the corners of her lips and nodded once.

"You know those_ Little Debbie_ snack cakes?" Jade's eyebrows rose. Sam put her hand to her chest and shut her eyes. "I probably have five boxes in the freezer." The girl laughed in response. She was glad to see her relaxing for the first time since being here, since that's what she was hoping for.

Sam reached for the bottle of pills and held them up, showing them to Jade. "Painkillers are easy to get addicted to if you have an underlying reason. Those who suffer from abuse can easily get addicted to them because-as you just said-it makes you feel good."

"I never thought painkillers were bad."

"They're not. Not like Heroin or Cocaine would be. However, if you take enough of them, they can be just as deadly." She set the pills back on the desk and took a deep breath. "The reason something becomes an addiction is because, while yes the particular item is an additive, the person may not be utilizing their self-control mechanism. Desire can very easily override that."

"Self-control. Beck says I have none. Last thing he said to me before I hit him. It was a punch too…but he may be right." Sam furrowed her brow as Jade's shoulders rose and fell. "A few years ago I went into the nurse's station at the hospital when Tori was giving blood and destroyed the pack so they'd drain her again, all so I'd get a part in some lousy play."

"I see." That was a terrible thing to do to someone, especially since it could likely result in a fatality. "What made you do that?"

"Jealousy, I didn't think Tori should get every lead part in everything. I know now that it was wrong."

"That's key." She snapped her fingers and Jade glanced up at her.

"What is?"

"You just said it. You 'know' it's wrong. If you know something isn't right, you have more control over whether or not you do it. If you can control yourself over impulse, then."

Jade moved her right leg over her left and leaned her head back as a look of contemplation came over her. "I just thought of something. I know therapists and counselors are required to report things…"

"Yes. By law if you tell me you're being abused and you are a minor, I need to report it. Now if you're over eighteen, I don't need to." She folded her hands over in her lap and frowned at the girl. There were a number of things counselors were legally bound to report. "If you were a danger to yourself or others, for instance if you told me you were planning to kill somebody."

"You'd have to report that."

"Yes. Same if you said you told me you were going home right after this and planning to harm yourself."

"I understand."

She let out an exhale. "Still we are bound by a confidentiality clause, so nothing you say here is anything that I can repeat to anyone. Still, in regards to abuse or any of those other things that I just mentioned, I should at least discuss options you have because it is part of the therapist job to ensure the safety of those they're counseling…"

"Options?" Jade pushed herself closer to the edge of the bed and sat up. "I don't see how I have many. I don't have a job or enough money to move out, and trying to not be dependent on painkillers is going to be hard in that environment."

"The lack of having a job or money doesn't necessarily leave you without options. As a student of psychology, I am a grad student, I am not currently fully equipped to handle certain things that aren't in my initial realm of specialty. I am studying primarily in areas regarding situations such as sexual abuse, prostitution, drug and gang violence, and so on-but it's broad. I am able to counsel on issues such as abuse, even family disputes and couple counseling, but those are a little out there for me."

"So if Beck and I were to come to you seeking help?"

"I would have to be honest and say that I need to study more on the subject and give you the option of referring you to my mentor or one of the counselors on the base that I work with. That said, as I am still just a grad student my scope is limited. That's the reason I'm not fully established yet. I have more to learn."

"I understand." Jade pressed her lips together and turned her gaze towards the bottle of medication. "I came to you because I thought it would be better that my parents don't know I'm seeking a therapist. I don't have money for full counselor either."

"That's why I'm offering you the _Safe Haven_ brochure. They do not charge for a session and can go over all the available options that you can do to better the environment you're in." Jade started to smile and reached for the brochure. Sam watched her open the booklet and read. "They're stationed here in LA, not far from the base. You know how to get there? I can take you if you'd like, or give you directions."

"No, I've been in this area a couple times. I'll go." Jade stood up and looked once more at the pills. "Um, keep those by the way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. So, do you have to tell your mentor that you spoke to me?"

"Name, yes, subject matter not without your consent. Still even just a name is shaky, I cannot divulge your name to anybody in my personal life. For instance, I could not tell Cat that I have counseled you. Now if I were thinking about it, sure, but not after the fact."

"Is verbal consent okay?"

She had a fax machine in the living room beside the television, it made things easier to get from her boss. "She prefers written. Most professionals do, myself included. Verbal is not always trusted for obvious reasons."

"Oh yeah, because you can say just about anything."

"Exactly. I can have her fax the document over if you'd like, then I'll fax it back to her." She may not have to fax it over since she had to go back to the base anyway.

"You really need to get like an office or something." Sam chuckled softly and stood from the desk, brushing her hands along her pants. "Anyway do you know Lane?"

"Not personally, no. He works at your old school, from what Cat's told me."

"He's a decent guy, good counselor. I've spoken with him a few times, he's just not that helpful. I think because he's just a school guidance counselor. I suppose they have their limitations too."

"Yeah, but as a counselor he should still be trained to handle the same things I am-such as drug, abuse, suicide, etcetera." Sam led her out into the living room where the fax machine was and dialed the number for her boss. She could see Cat through the glass doors out back, so there was no need to worry about her hearing anything.

Alice answered after two rings, asking how Sam was doing. "Hey Alice, I have someone who came to me for counseling, I'm referring her to _Save Haven_, but I need you to fax over a couple documents for her to sign."

"Okay Sam, what documents do you need? If you're planning on keeping her on as a client, then you'll need the contract." Those were always good to fill out regardless of whether they were to be kept on or not. It was always good to assume the possibility of future counseling.

"I will need one of those. The confidentiality agreement, and she's requesting consent papers allowing me to discuss her credentials with you."

She felt Jade tap her on the shoulder and glanced back. "If you think it's good to get information from Lane, feel free. I know I've told him a lot of stuff in the past, just not about the abuse because of the whole minor thing." Sam nodded and turned back around.

"I also need some papers to allow me to connect with the counselor at her former high school. She is asking me to gather paperwork from him as well."

"I've got everything," Alice replied, "I will send it all now. You're doing a good job, still need you to come back in. I have more I would like to teach you. Also, do let me know if there is anything else I need to know."

"I'll fill you in when I come in tomorrow morning."

"How is your thesis going?"

"Very well, thank you." The fax machine started buzzing. Sam glanced over to watch as several sheets of paper made their way out one at a time. Jade practically fainted when she saw them stacking.

"That's a lot of paper," Jade moaned. "I didn't think I'd have to fill out a contract too."

"You do anywhere you go. Doctor's office, therapist, hospital, and so on."

"I know. Thanks for talking to me, by the way."

"Not a problem."

* * *

A little flexing of the psychological muscles there.


	10. Stain on the Past

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 10 (Stain on the Past)

That evening while Cat was taking the kid they were babysitting out to eat, Sam had opted to stay home and work some more on her thesis. She'd gotten through a good portion of it and was going over notes she'd compiled. Mrs. Cleveland wanted her to start a folder on Jade West and put it in the filing cabinet that she'd given to her in the office. Sam also compiled some notes on Trina and Tori, and would be starting separate folders on them as well.

She heard a chime from her laptop and glanced over to see a Skype request pinging from Carly. Happy to hear from her, Sam set her notes down and answered the call. "Sup Carls," Sam waved once the brunette appeared on the screen with her toddler. She leaned forward, grinning at the child snoozing in his mother's arms. "How are Doug and Kevin?"

"Kevin's had a long day of playing with the kids at preschool." Carly kissed her son on the forehead and looked back with a heavy sigh. "His father, on the other hand, is not yet accustomed to the fact that if you go into a preschool eating candy while picking up your son…the other kids will flock around asking for candy." Sam heard Douglas snort in the background and laughed as Carly scratched her hair. "Italy is a strange but beautiful place. I kind of miss the states though-how are you?"

"Good."

"I know you've been searching for that 'star client', have you found one yet?" Carly smirked at her and rolled her head to the side. "A big city like Los Angeles, you're bound to find someone."

"I've found…a family. I can't go into much more detail than that." Carly's eyebrow rose and she slowly shook her head. "What? That's just as good. A lot of people have issues that stem from family, mostly parental concerns. I have my focus on someone whose issues are so interconnected with their family that it seems I'd really have to counsel them all eventually. I don't want to, but if it comes to that, I will."

"I see. Must be fun. Freddie and Melanie still together?"

"Yep, and going strong." The couple was doing a long distance thing at the moment since Melanie went to a college in New York while Freddie stuck around in Seattle University. "Seems Melanie and I are in the same boat, both our fiancés are miles away."

"Yeah, but at least you two are doing well. You're getting along with Cat pretty well still? Have you told her about-you know what?" Carly's lips pulled back into a frown and Sam felt a sudden flicker in her chest. She shook her head and closed her eyes.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable yet because I don't know if she's going to be that accepting. It's not really something you just tell someone, Carly."

"I know, but I'm sure it's bound to come up. We were on the _internet_ Sam, and just about everyone that knows about iCarly probably realizes what we were involved in." She was right, it was fortunate that so far nobody she knew personally-aside from a select few actually knew about her past. "Like it or not, we were involved in what we were. It's a part of our lives, Sam, we have to accept that."

"I thought I was accepting it better than you were." Sam tucked her lip into a smirk and Carly laughed. It was good that they were able to laugh about it now, a sign that they were moving on from it, albeit it was a slow process. "One of the kids we were babysitting stumbled onto a website last week. I thought Cat might have seen something about me with the way she was acting, but she didn't."

"Good. I can only wonder how many of our videos are still out there." Carly paused and her face tightened. "Truth be told, I don't think I want to know. I think you weren't involved in all the terrible things I was in."

"We both did it."

"Yeah but…you never shot with multiple at once. I don't think so anyway." Carly scratched her forehead and sighed. "Regardless, what's past is past. I think it's high time we just accept that." Sam lifted her eyebrows and gazed with pride at her friend.

Carly had come a long way, it was surprising. Considering all the crap Carly had been put through, since she got out of that life sometime after Sam had. Sam was lucky enough to avoid a lot of the risks. Carly ended up contracting genital herpes during one of the shoots, but had it under control with medicine. Fortunately neither girls contracted HIV, but they'd tested for it multiple times just to 'make sure'.

Carly leaned back in the chair she was in and studied the screen for a minute. "I told you I've been seeing a therapist too, right?"

"Yeah. I can tell you're making progress."

"You're a counselor so you probably know this, but my therapist told me it's a good idea to have a friend to talk to. To trust. Someone that's there, and I'm not _there_, I can't offer you physical comfort. Cat could."

Sam moved her hand up to her forehead and chuckled softly. "Carly. I don't need-"

"You still have nightmares?" Her muscles tensed. She furrowed her brow as Carly's face saddened and her eyes dipped down. "I still have nightmares, flashbacks. It isn't easy. Douglas doesn't like remembering all that stuff, doesn't like talking about it and I don't like talking to him about it all either, so I did tell someone that hadn't been involved. A good friend of mine here, and she's been a great person for me."

"That's good." She breathed in slowly and closed her eyes. "Actually I did run into someone recently. He looked so much like this one guy that..." Her eyelids tightened over her eyes and she shook her head. "Turns out this was that guy's brother. I guess while it's still the past, it's still affecting."

"It always will. It's just a matter of overcoming and not let it cripple us. Right?"

"Yeah."

"I bet Cat realizes you're holding back, not trusting her with something."

"She does ask a lot about you, about Derek and other questions about my past. I don't like talking about it, and she knows that."

"She seems like a nice person. You think she might be hurt thinking you don't trust her? I'm not saying tell her details, but if you think you can trust her, then maybe you should tell her a little bit…"

"I'll consider it." She already understood there was no possible way to escape the past, she hadn't run to Los Angeles in an attempt to run from it. No, she just couldn't bear the memories in Seattle. Still the part she was afraid of wasn't her history, but of the people around her. "I don't want to lose friends because I was involved in the sex industry."

"If you do, then they weren't real friends anyway. I shouldn't have to tell you that."

Sam laughed and turned her head down. "I know. Even Freddie became friendly with us again."

"Ah hell, I still think that was because of your sister. He never looked at me the same way again, at least."

She started to comment on the subject, but was stopped by the doorbell. Putting the laptop to the side, Sam moved to answer it. Astonishingly it was Dice, standing and twiddling his thumbs together. "Dice? Are you here to see Cat? She's out right now."

"I wanted to talk to you, actually." She leaned her head back and frowned as his eyes drifted up to her. "I er, want to apologize actually."

"Well come in, then." She felt a stillness in the air as he moved inside. Dice's shoulders were sunken and he still appeared gravely upset by something, though not as tense as he had been in the last few days. "What do you want to talk about?"

She shut the door and sat down in the recliner while Dice sat beside the laptop. Dice clasped his hands together and set his chin on them. He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. "I don't want to stop being friends with you, and I'm sorry I've been making you feel uncomfortable the last week."

"You think you've-"

His eyes shifted abruptly towards her and "Goomer told me I was making you uncomfortable. I wasn't trying to avoid you, I just…This is really hard for me." She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"Take it a step at a time then. I'm a counselor, it's my job to listen." Dice chuckled nervously and shook his head.

"Promise not to tear my head off?"

She tilted her head to the right and smirked at him. Her hand lifted up and her eyebrows wagged. "I promise nothing my curly haired, squirrelly friend." Dice laughed for a minute, then let out a gentle sigh.

"I should have just come to you first, I know, I just-I couldn't. It was difficult to…I-" She knew what was coming, and while it terrified her, she wanted to get it over with. What shocked her was that he said he still wanted to keep their friendship up.

"Spit it out. You're a twelve-thirteen year old boy, there's quite possibly nothing you can tell me that I won't expect." His eyes opened and moved slowly towards her.

"Even if it's that I experimented with pornography on my cousin's laptop?"

She pressed her lips together and held her breath for a second. Her eyes locked with his and she watched as they quivered anxiously. "You're at the point where you're going through puberty, certain images interest and entice you because you've never seen them before, and they'll give you a sort of inner sensation, feeling that is going to seem new to you."

His eyes widened and his hands shot up. "Yeah! I know, I get that." He moved his hand over his eyes and groaned softly. "I started watching, and I'm never going to watch again. I-I can't. The things I saw made me turn off right away."

Her fingers curled into her palms and her heart began to pound in her chest. The tension in the air grew heavy, but not to the point that she could no longer breathe. "What-or who-did you see, Dice. Be straight with me. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Of course!" He threw his head up with a whimper. She could see the anxiety in his eyes, he seemed to be terrified of the concept of lost friendship. "You and Cat are my best friends, my only friend-other than Goomer. I-I couldn't tell him, I couldn't tell anyone. I've been trying to get the thought, the image out of my head because I didn't want-I don't want to see…"

"You saw me."

He froze and tears began to well up in the boy's eyes. His face buried into his hands and his body began to shake. Sam let out a sigh of relief, glad to at least get that out into the open. She moved over to the couch and hesitated before moving her hand to gently rub his back.

"I'm sorry, Dice. I want you to understand that is a part of my past, it isn't my life anymore. We tried to get rid of all traces we could, my father and my friend's husband, some traces are still there." She smiled sadly as the boy lifted his head up from his hands. "How much did you see?" She was a little curious what video still existed out there, and in truth she hoped it was one of the lesser ones. Though no matter the content, it could still damage a person to see someone they know in a video. "At least now I understand why you were avoidant."

"I was only trying to recover, trying to forget so that when I see you I wasn't seeing that." He lowered his hands to his knees and tore out a rattling breath. "I didn't see much. I just…When I was watching these videos online-I only went to the softer sounding titles. I was curious!"

"There's nothing wrong with that. Don't think there is. It's normal for people to gain an interest in viewing that stuff…"

"Yeah, well, the one I saw that you were in was like-it just started out with your back and candles surrounding." She winced and closed her eyes, she remembered the video well. It was one of the softer ones, thankfully. Not to mention this particular one dealt with a good two minutes of foreplay and kissing before stripping, so Dice might have been able to avoid seeing too much.

"So when you realized who it was-"

"I shut the computer off instantly. When your face appeared I just…I couldn't believe it. I was so scared, I didn't want to keep watching-I don't want to see you like that, Sam."

"I appreciate you telling me, Dice. If you can remember the name of the title or website, I think I can contact my dad and get that video taken down." He nodded slowly and wiped his eyes.

"Why? Why did you do that? Is it okay that I ask?"

"I wish I could tell you. Part of it had to do with money, part of it was from the attention, and partly it just felt really good. I think another part was just wanting to do something with my friend-it was her boyfriend that got us involved in that life."

"You don't do that anymore?"

"I do not. It did a lot of damage. I almost lost my family over it, Dad kicked me out. Said so long as I was involved in that life I couldn't be under his roof. Thank god I had some friends to take me in-though they laid down the law and said I wasn't to be involved in that stuff. I did my best to oblige, but it was hard to break the habit. I did. The, um…pleasure that life gave me was not as important to me as my family and my friends. I had to realize that, and I did."

"I think I understand." Dice smiled at her and rubbed his neck. "I can live with that, I guess. I just-I'm sorry I didn't talk to you first. I think I was afraid you'd hate me because I even thought about watching that sort of thing, and then seeing you."

"You were afraid?" She laughed once and pulled him into a one-armed hug. She rubbed his head with her other hand, causing him to yelp and laugh out. "You're like a little brother to me. I was the one afraid. You think I didn't realize why you might have been avoiding me?" He leaned back and his eyes widened. "I thought you wouldn't want to be involved with us anymore because you might have seen me in something."

"Never! You guys are my best friends." He paused and squinted his eyes. "Okay. My _only_ friends. Dare I say the same? You two are close like sisters I've never had. I don't want to ruin that. You said that was just a part of your past, then that's fine. I just needed some time to get over what I saw, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

"It's fine. I'm glad you did, we got that out of the way. So are we good?"

"Yes."

"Glad." Her heart jumped with a joyous step. She hugged her friend and leaned back with a sigh. She had to wonder, if Dice had been so accepting of it, then maybe Cat would be as well. "Anyway, I forgot I was talking to a friend of mine. I need to get back to her."

"Okay."

"Will Cat and I see you around?"

"Most likely." He smiled at her and stood up, breathing in sharply. "I just wanted to come by and-well thanks for talking to me."

"Of course."

"I need to get back to my Aunt, I was supposed to be picking something up for her. I had to stop by since I was thinking about what Goomer said and all."

"I'm glad you did. I'll see you around, Kid."

"Bye Sam…"

"Will you be furthering your experimentation in internet pornography?" His face started to turn green and he shuddered in response. She folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Thought not. Enjoy puberty, Dice, it'll only last another five years."

"Now you're just being mean." He smiled back at her and sighed. "Good to see things are normal."

"Oh yes. This changes _nothing_." Dice laughed and hurried out the door. She grabbed her laptop and raised an eyebrow at Carly's image. "Sorry Carly, I forgot you were still there."

"That's alright," Carly yawned, "I muted the conversation and went to put Kevin to bed. So what was that all about? That was your friend, Dice, right?"

"Yeah. Apparently he saw the start of one of my videos." Carly winced and Sam slowly shook her head. "He's been avoidant for a while, but I guess he was just recovering from the shock. He accepts that it was a part of my past, and he's still going to be a friend. I'm glad."

"Me too, but you see, that furthers the point I was making. If he was accepting, then maybe Cat would be too?"

"Yeah…I might try talking to her. We'll have to see." Her phone chirped and she picked it up, seeing the text from Dice. "Ah, I see he remembered the site and video. I can get that to dad so he can have it taken down."

"The perks of having a police dad, huh?"

Sam set the phone down and chuckled. "More than you know, Carly." There could not be many left, though people often duplicated videos and put them on multiple sites. Hers had been more protected to the point that it was hard to just copy and past a video onto another location, that made the removal of them easier. "It's a scary thought though, how much of us are still out there."

"With you? Not much I'm sure, you weren't involved in making _that many_. Me? I don't want to think about it."

"We both had a lot, Carly." She frowned as Carly's face tensed. "It's just a matter of how often we shot." At the same time, they hadn't operated that long. There were stars that had operated for at five or more years and only had a small few hundred videos. "I think Dad said he found and removed eighty originals of mine and a hundred of yours."

"I thought he found more than that?"

"His cyber team found traces of copies and duplicates elsewhere, but hey removed a great majority." She paused for a minute and looked towards the door. "But you're right, what you said before. That's a part of our past, it's best we accept and move on."

"But that fear…it's a very real one."

"What fear is that?"

"You know how Dice found that video of yours. What if-our kids grow up, they have kids of our own. Who's to say they won't one day stumble on a video of their mother, their grandmother."

"Yeah. We just have to be prepared for that. We have no choice in the matter, Carly." She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. Many porn stars, both current and former did not realize that they would forever be a part of the internet. Those that did, likely did not care or think that it would ever come up.

It was a stain that would never truly go away, a scar that served always to be a reminder. "Besides Carly, we can't control other people. You can put sanctions and regulations on your kids when they grow up, make sure to know what they're doing online, but nothing's stopping a curious teenager from viewing pornography at a friend's house or somewhere else. That said, nothing's stopping them from finding something from so long ago."

"I don't even remember why I got involved in that, or why I even talked you into the lifestyle."

"You didn't want to be the only one that knew about it, so you shared it with me."

"Yes I know that, I just mean-I don't know what I mean."

"Emotionally, probably. We can't dwell on it, because we can never change that it happened, we can only do our best to move beyond it." Sam took a deep breath and slowly shook her head. "I'll tell Cat. I don't want to run the risk that she stumbles onto something accidentally. Seeing how Dice reacted…sometimes it's better to just be honest."

"Think Cat will take it okay?"

"I honestly don't know. I think she'll be fine with it so long as she knows it's in the past and has nothing to do with my life now. Dice was amazingly understanding, so I think she will be too."

* * *

I'm sure it's good to hear from Carly again. Looks like the situation with Dice is resolved, and at least it lets her realize it may be safe to talk to Cat.


	11. The Survivor

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 11 (Survivor)

When Cat arrived home that night, Sam was curled on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her body. Laughter came from the television, but the joke made by the characters had been lost on her. "What are you watching?" Cat made her way to the couch and looked towards the television.

"Some comedy that isn't all that funny." She was trying to calm her nerves so she could mentally prepare for what she was going to do. "I think I'm too into sociology that I'm analyzing the characters more than I'm enjoying the show." Cat removed her purse and laughed at her.

"You need to separate your career mind from your leisure, so you can actually _enjoy_ the things you watch." She waved dismissively and folded her arms around herself. Comedies never did the trick anyhow, her preference was geared towards the more serious dramas. Action and adventure was among her favorites.

"When you grow up enjoying movies like _The Expendables_, _Taken_, or anything with explosions, it's a little difficult to take comedies seriously." Cat scrunched her face and twisted her nose. Her hands fell to her hips and her head bowed.

"You're not supposed to take comedy seriously, Sam."

"I prefer sarcastic humor."

Cat's eyelids fell halfway and her arms dropped to her sides. "So then what was iCarly? A well-played drama?"

"Possibly." Though in all seriousness, life could be one drama after another. "I know we certainly had enough drama in our lives." Cat's eyebrows rose and she sat down with a sigh of defeat. Sam leaned away to the right and ran her fingers through the side of her hair. "Is something on your mind, Cat?" The girl's brow was wrinkled and her mouth was twisted in a deep frown.

"I was just thinking, I suppose I shouldn't bother asking you to elaborate. It's just, I feel like we're getting to be pretty close as far as friends go, but there's so much about you that I don't even know."

Carly's words flashed in Sam's mind and she frowned at her friend. The hurt in Cat's eyes was obvious. "It isn't that I don't trust you, Cat, it's just-"

"Then why don't you ever tell me anything about yourself?" Sam winced as Cat's gaze pulled up into hers. "Is there something you're afraid to talk about? I mean, everyone's got skeletons in the back of their closet. I wouldn't push you to talk about anything you didn't, but surely there's still some details of your past that aren't painful."

"You're right." She sat upright and exhaled sharply. "There's good stuff and there's bad. Anything you want to know about me, ask and I'll answer what I can." Cat's lips parted and her fingers closed around her knees. Sam watched the girl's shoulders move inwards together and her head bow. The energy in the room seemed to tense as Cat slowly shook her head.

"I uh, I don't really know what to ask about. I mean, obviously I know the stuff you have told me. Like about Carly, your sister, your fiancé…I don't know what specialization you're studying for, what your thesis is over-"

Sam leaned her head into her fingers and closed her eyes, sighing as she massaged her temple with her forefinger. "My thesis is in regards to the sex industry." Cat's head shot up and her lips formed an oval. "A counselor is supposed to be able to counsel any issue in regards to domestic violence, suicide, depression, addictions to drugs and other substances, and so on."

She opened her eyes and moved her head upright, then brought her arm down into her lap. After pausing for a few seconds, she took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "Most counselors have a degree specialization to what their primary subject is. So while I could counsel, say yourself, on depression or any issue you have-I specialize in understanding and helping those that have problems with the sex industry. Both people who are involved in pornography, prostitution, johns, as well as those addicted to such."

It was great to get this off her chest, but she still hadn't informed Cat of her own involvement. It was a struggle to figure out how to bring it up in a way that wouldn't cause her friend to fall away from her. Dice's acceptance of her past was still different than whether Cat would accept or reject.

"That's great." Cat shrugged and crossed her arms. Her eyebrows rose to the top of her brow and her body moved forward in a slight lean. "But why could you never say that? I mean, even the subject matter for the thesis, couldn't you share it?"

"I could. There is a reason I didn't share it with you, a personal reason." Cat unfolded her arms and flattened her lips together. Sam could feel her heart against her chest and closed her eyes, fearing a possible heart attack. "I…I was a part of that life in the past." Her words created a great deal of pain for her, but just like the tearing of a Band aid, they were needed.

Cat's hand moved up over her mouth. Sam opened one eye and frowned at the girl's stiff form. Her left hand remained in her lap, her right arm hovered centimeters from trembling lips, and her body remained unmoving. In that instance, the air around them felt as still as she was, and only the sound of the wall clock's second hand could be heard as though it had been placed inside a long tunnel.

The silence was broken when Cat lowered her hand and spoke in a hushed tone. "You were a stripper?"

"I wish." Even strippers had it rough, but in her experience it hadn't been as bad. Carly was the one that eventually went to work for a strip club, and the owners there forbade clientele from touching or having sex with the women. "I never went that route, but I can't say I was a prostitute either. I shot videos, I was a porn star for a short period."

Now out in the open she had no choice but to talk about that life. She thought it would hurt more than it did now, but she was more relieved talking about it than she ever was holding it in. This, she was already aware held true in most cases, which was the reason that counselors existed in the first place. At the same time, she understood the very hesitancy people had in opening up about things they've done or the ways they felt.

"Why? Why would you ever get involved in that?"

"Why does anyone, Cat? There are many reasons someone would, and then once in there, there are many reasons people stay in that life. One of those being simply that it just feels really good."

"But you're not-you aren't still in that?"

"Of course not. It's just in my past. I was afraid you wouldn't like it if I told you about it."

Cat leaned back and brought her hand up to her chest. "I _don't_ like it." Sam held her breath and watched as Cat pulled her hand away. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you. I may not like what you were involved in, but you're my friend."

"I know. It's hard enough for me to talk about the issue in the first place, but when thinking about whether or not it's going to affect the people you meet in the future…"

"Well, I am glad you told me. I don't want you to think I'm going to judge you or anything. Honestly, with the people I've been friends with, the last thing I want to do is be judgmental." Sam smiled at her and shook her head, she was amazed that this conversation wasn't nearly as bad as she imagined it to be. "So long as that life is a part of your past and not anything you're involved in now, I'm fine with it. Also, if you're too uncomfortable talking about it, I won't ask for any details."

"To be perfectly honest, I don't think you want the details." Cat scrunched her face and closed her eyes. After a minute, her expression relaxed and her head swayed from side to side.

"No. No, you're right I don't want to know details."

"Yeah. I'm just glad you never stumbled onto anything." Cat's eyebrow arched up and Sam let out a small whistle. "It was the reason Dice was avoiding us. My dad got most of the traces off but some stuff still remains, and he stumbled across a video."

"Oh my god!" Cat leaned back and brought her hands up to her chest, gasping out in surprise. "I think I see why you were worried what I would think. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No." She raised a hand and Cat's brow furrowed. "He actually came by a couple hours ago, we talked about it. Everything's fine now."

"I'm glad. I would hate for anything to be awkward between everyone." As surprising as Cat's acceptance of her was, Sam could understand why she wasn't being nearly as judgmental as she thought. She was aware how tired the girl was of having judgmental friends of her own for the last several years, and the talk they had over some of the things she had done implied their behavior may have rubbed off on her a bit. That said, it was likely Cat was trying to be more accepting and aware of things than she would be normally.

"Something like this isn't worth losing friends over, and believe me, I've lost a lot of friends because of this. That's why I'd rather leave it behind me where it belongs and move forward. My philosophy is that just because it's a part of someone's past, doesn't mean it needs to rule over the present."

"I can agree to that. You must know it could affect the future, though."

"Yeah, I know that much. I don't like it, but I know it'll always be there. As far as porn stars go, I think Carly and I are a couple of the lucky ones." Cat's brow furrowed and Sam turned her head away for the moment. "Many die young, many have to live out the remainder of their lives with disease, or even knowing they don't have long because they've contracted something devastating like HIV. I was fortunate enough not to get anything, and Carly probably got one of the least worrisome STD."

"How did you get out, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't. My dad was a police chief, as you know. He was researching this suspicious porn site-there had been reports of underage models, among other things. He wound up seeing some of my videos." Cat's eyes widened. Sam's stomach tightened as she recalled the vivid memory of her father's anger.

"That's terrible." It was one thing to know your child was involved in that life, but it was another thing to find out while doing your job and seeing a video with your child with your own eyes. "What happened?"

"He said to me: 'So long as you are shooting pornography, you are not allowed under this roof'."

"He disowned you?"

"Not disowned, never that. He kicked me out of the house." It was bad enough that most of her aunts were the judgmental and stuck up type, to the point they pushed her father to disown her. "Thank god he never listened to my aunts, they all wanted him to drop me as if I was nothing to him."

"So…you were out on the streets? What next?"

"You know what happens to girls like me when they go out on the streets? It happened with Carly too, but Spencer _did_ disown her." The memory of Spencer telling Carly she wasn't his sister was vivid, but that came after he already found out she'd been shooting porn in his bedroom and continued to do so even after telling her not to. "I had a friend of mine, someone that dated Freddie many years ago and was dating an old ex of mine…long story how they met, and even longer how we became friends again. Not the focal point, the point is I went crying to Valerie after Dad kicked me out, and she took me in. It was through her and Jonah-they were engaged at the time-they helped me get over that lifestyle."

"Was it hard?"

"Very. I told you people stay in it because it feels good, and I loved how it felt at the time. I was willing to overlook some of the more disgusting aspects of pornography…" Cat wrinkled her nose and cleared her throat.

"You didn't say what happens to people that get kicked out like that."

"Getting to that." Sam took a moment to breathe and turned her eyes into Cat's curious gaze. "See, I was lucky. I had a friend willing to take me in, willing to help. Derek was Jonah's friend in the military, he kept persisting and insisting he cared about me in a way that was different than I thought. I ended up being able to join the army because of his father's status."

"His dad was in the military too?"

"Yeah, big military family. Now, the reason I didn't get worse…Carly got worse because she had no one to turn to. No friends were able to take her in, and she was too proud to ask for help-not to mention she was more hooked on the feeling of sex than I was. When Spencer disowned her, she was on the streets. She turned to prostitution, then went on to work at a strip club. It was great for her because it helped her get over some of the sex, since they were a club that forbade their workers having sex with customers. Unfortunately she, and a couple other girls were taken and put in a prostitution and drug ring. When I got back from my tour overseas, I was able to try and find her, to help her."

"And did you?"

"Yes. It turned out the reason she got into all this was because her boyfriend, now husband, Douglas had been overseas as well trying to stop someone in that gang. An assassin tried to kill him, but the people we were fighting overseas saved him. He was held hostage until Derek and I completed a hostage rescue and found him. We didn't know it was him at first."

"Wow…it does sound like you both had a rough time."

"Rough enough. After helping her out, we made sure to get away from that life. I'm here now, she's in Italy for a small time."

Cat leaned forward and hugged her, catching her off guard. She lifted a hand and gently pat her friend on the back. "Thank you for trusting me with this, Sam."

"Well to be honest, it feels good to get it off my chest."

As Cat pulled back, she could see an inquisitive look spreading across her face. "So tell me. Your dad, and then Spencer, did things ever get resolved?"

"Yes. My dad-and aunts all were amazed when I told them I was going to join the army." She stuck her chest out and smirked with pride. "When I told them I was clean, mom and dad couldn't be happier. Of course they welcomed me back home." It had not been a reunion without tears, both of her parents had been going stir crazy with worry and fear over not having one of their daughters around. "Even my aunts, although only one of them was really more bitter than the others, they ate their words and were more than happy to accept me back."

"Sounds like they didn't deserve your gratitude though."

"Well they're family, but back then my family's approval was everything to me. I needed attention from them, I needed acceptance, and when I didn't get any of it I got that attention and acceptance _elsewhere_." Cat nodded slowly and Sam folded her arms across her chest. "So it meant a lot back then to hear them all say they loved me and that I was a part of their family no matter what."

"That's good. What about Spencer and Carly?"

"Eventually he came around. After he saw how bad things got for her, he took her back in with open arms, promising never to let things get that bad again. I think Sasha had more to do with his accepting Carly back into the fold than anything, though."

"Sasha?"

"His wife now. She scolded him for disowning his sister and kept pushing him to do the right thing and find her. After I got back from Iraq, it only took a little extra prodding from me, and from Douglas, to get him to do the right thing. He never stopped loving his little sister for a minute, though. He was just too proud, and didn't like the fact that his sister was doing what she was while he was trying to get a second start at a law degree."

Cat's face went sour and she quickly shook her head. "God, I hate when people put their own reputation above their family! It just isn't fair."

"It's human nature. It doesn't make it right, but a lot of times people simply cannot help it. Usually they'll do the right thing in the end, if their hearts are in the right place."

"For someone that's been through all that you have, that is a _lot _of faith to put in humanity." Sam chuckled as Cat stood up from the couch. "And that's saying a lot too since I have even less faith in people!"

"Sometimes it's easier to believe in the good in somebody than to see everyone's heart as dark. Part of my job is also to help someone realize that." She snapped her fingers and pointed out to Cat. "Even those friends of yours are good people underneath all the judging and popularity."

Cat laughed as she moved towards the kitchen. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Sam put her hands behind her head and kicked her heels up onto the couch. "So, what about you? If someone came to you after being thrown into the streets, would you take them in?"

"Considering the alternative? Of course. I'd probably prefer doing that for a friend than a total stranger, though, but I would want to help somebody if I could."

"That's good to hear."

* * *

Well it's another step in the friendship and trust they have. Good thing Cat was accepting, and now they can move forward.


	12. Painful Familarity

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: READ PLEASE-Mainly for Invader Johnny and Fanfic-Reader, but I want all my readers to understand something, and I've also explained this a bit to IJ already. This is the sequel, while everything Sam has said to Cat, Trina, and Carly about her past up to this point provides the best recap for what happened in the first story, you have to understand Sam's character development took place in _that_ tale. The question of why she's able to see good in people or be caring in this should not be a surprise, if you think about it. In the first story it _was_ hard for her to trust anyone or see good in them when she'd been judged by so many, even her own aunts. Through the people that helped her, she saw good in them, and decided also to be a counselor so she could help people who were in her situation. There's still some development of character to be had, sure, there always is, but the good portion of lacking in trust and all that was in the first. Keep in mind that the first story is still in my story list on my profile _if _you want to read or skim it.

Another note, a little annoying but understandable, the question of Jade going to "Sam, of all people". Mainly fanfic-reader, bear in mind if you've seen Sam and Cat you know in that one episode they became great friends. Sam implies that this event occurred where Freddie came down to Seattle, the only difference is Freddie clearly wouldn't be acting the way he was in that episode. Now, whether or not that episode matters, in this story, you have to remember that Jade would only know that Sam is a counselor, and nothing else about her would be known in regards to past behaviors or life.

* * *

Chapter 12 (Painful Familiarity)

"You did not tell me she was coming," Trina said as she walked up to Sam and Cat. Sam looked to Cat with a nervous chuckle and shrugged as the redhead smiled and waved. "Why bring her?"

"I wanted to come," Cat answered for her. It had been her idea to show up at the performance with Sam rather than her other friends, and of course she pushed until Sam approved. "I was going to be here anyway." Cat bounced on her heels and swung her arms out to the two girls. "So I figured, why not come hang out with you and Sam instead of the others?" Trina frowned and dropped her eyelids halfway. Trina was wearing mini shorts and a powder blue tank top that revealed her midriff and appeared way too tight around her chest. "What are you wearing?"

"What I would normally, it's not your business." Trina crossed her arms and looked off to the side. "I guess it's fine if you hang, at least I'm not suffering this performance alone." She muttered something about missing work for the second night in the week. When Cat looked away, it seemed that she didn't hear.

"I've never seen you wear it, but okay." Sam raised an eyebrow at Cat, then looked to Trina, crossing her arms. Trina met her eyes as Cat spotted her teacher, Mr. Sikowitz, and walked over to him. Once out of earshot, Trina let out a groan and dropped her arms to the sides.

"I was hoping to sneak out and get to work during the whole performance. You realize Tori's not the only one performing, it's like a fucking talent show and I don't want to sit through the whole fiasco."

"You don't think Tori would come see you after her performance?"

"We're talking about the same girl, right?" Trina flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed. "When it isn't Saturday and her friends are around, we're strangers."

"So why not tell her you don't like that? It seems like she does care about you if she's devoted enough to spend an entire day with you as often as she does."

"I suppose." Trina leaned towards the right and tucked her lower lip beneath her teeth. "It feels so weird not being out on the street right now." She shook her head and looked over towards Cat. "You said she chose to come on her own?"

"Yes. She wants to be friends."

"Why?" Trina tore her gaze away and arched an eyebrow. "No one wants to be friends with me unless they're getting something in return."

"I want to be your friend, and I don't expect anything in return."

"Yeah well, what I mean by that is usually they want sex." Sam cringed inwardly and watched Trina walk over to Cat. As the girls began chatting, she decided to look around and see what else there was or who else was here.

Her eyes froze on two people in the distance and her stomach dropped. One was a Latina girl with long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and the girl beside her was a pale girl with shoulder length auburn hair. She'd only seen them a couple of times in the past. "No," she whispered as the air grew heavy.

Her chest started to ache and her hands trembled as the two women made eye contact with her. "Hey look who it is," the auburn haired girl smirked and led the Latina over. "One of Seattle's former rising stars." Sam clenched her fists and turned up a polite, albeit fake smile. "The porn industry misses you Samantha. Where's Carlotta?"

"That's _Carly_, and she's in Italy. What are you doing here, Lexy?" Lexy Ball and Daisy Delmonica, two well known stars in the industry who had absolutely no desire to leave it. "Last time I saw you guys was at that ceremony in Washington." It had been an awards ceremony for popular stars many years ago.

"Well, this is our hometown of course. We're at this showing because we're recruiting. Also looking for someone willing to do a three-way with us." Lexy leaned forward and wagged her eyebrows. Sam sneered and stepped away from this girl. There were some people too dangerous for even a counselor to try and help. "Want to join? Get back in the act? There's not much better work out there."

"There's plenty. I'm a counselor now." Lexy snapped upright and her jaw dropped. "I help people who want to get out of that life. It's dangerous, as you well know."

"No more dangerous than prostitution is. Tell us, how's _Carly_ doing these days?" Sam narrowed her eyes as the two women started to laugh. Nearly everyone in the sex industry knew not only when the girls left, but that Carly got sent into prostitution. "Face it, pornography is safer, makes more money, and well…" Lexy twirled her hair and laughed. "It's fun."

"Sure." Sam closed her eyes and shrugged. "If your idea of fun is having five sweaty guys on top of you just so you can make fifty bucks for one shoot." She smirked and shot a glare at Daisy. "And yes Daisy, I'm talking to you."

Lexy scowled and Daisy began to encircle Sam. "Why bother, Lex?" Daisy crossed arms and spat at Sam's feet. "She's just become a stuck up, uppity little bitch. I guess that's what happens when you leave the industry." The woman smacked Sam on the thigh, causing her to grunt and take a sharp inhale. "Tell me Samantha, when was the last time-"

"You know what?" It was hard to resist the urge to push them away, but she knew better than to get violent. These two women had been in the life so long that their morals were so distorted that they most likely did not have their own sense of emotions in check any longer. "This is a high school performance, unless you're planning on recruiting underage people, you won't be finding anyone here." She clenched her teeth and began to lose sight of her better demeanor, ready to clash with these two women. "Go back to whatever murky pit you crawled out of."

"Oh I'm sorry, aren't counselors supposed to be caring and compassionate?" Daisy put her hands to her face and laughed. "Yet you're looking at us like we're filthy and disgusting."

"No. I don't think that about you at all, because I've been there." She circled the two and stepped behind them. Her eyes focused on Trina in the distance, still chatting with Cat. "I don't think it's filthy at all, I just think that you've been grossly misled down a terrible and dangerous path, and you're so deep that you can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. You've been abused, trampled on, treated like a sex object for so long that you think it's normal."

"You think you're better than us?" Lexy asked. "Just because you're not involved in that life doesn't mean you're any better than we are." Sam turned around and flinched as the girl poked a finger into her chest. "You're just as much trash as the rest of us, and don't you dare forget it."

"I never said I was better." Sam pushed the girl's hand away and held on to her rational mindset the best that she could. "I know the things I've done, but I also realized the effect my actions had on those that cared about me." She saw the girls roll their eyes, so she crossed her arms and fired back. "Let me ask you something, if I can. What do your parents think of what you do? How do your siblings think of you? Lexy, I happen to know you're the sixth child in your family, and Daisy, you got into porn to help your ailing mother didn't you? Now that her cancer's been long paid for and she's much better, you're still in the industry-does she not know?"

A look of pain shot through the girls' eyes and their shoulders fell. She didn't feel like twisting the knife further, but if she wanted to she might suggest in a sarcastic manner that their parents certainly must be proud of their children, but that would be to assume they still even had families to associate with."

"Whatever." Lexy lifted her shoulders and tensed her muscles. She leaned to the right and set her sharpened glare onto Sam. "We don't have to sit here and take this preaching, we've got a job to do."

"And what job is that? Recruiting? Who the fuck do you think you're going to recruit at a high school performance!"

"Not everyone here is a student," Daisy informed, "Obviously. We've heard through the grapevine that one of the local prostitutes is here tonight." Sam tensed and snapped her gaze onto Trina. The last thing she wanted to do was let the girl get involved in porn, and these two were not going to sink their claws into her if she had anything to say about it. "We'd like to get her off the street. Is that _okay_, your highness?"

"I don't care for your condescending tone." Sam cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. "Believe me porn is not a good alternative to prostitution. Hell, pornography essentially is a glorified prostitution, you just get to show your breasts, your clit, your ass, and whatever's left to the entire world. While some man degrades you and has his way with you, strangers you don't know from half a world are getting off on it. Sure it feels good at first, but afterwards? After it's done, after the video is up, how can you say you don't feel like shit even for a split second?"

"We prefer not thinking about it. I think that's pretty obvious. It's just our job. Speaking of which, that prostitute isn't the only thing we're looking for."

"You mentioned looking for someone to do a three way?"

"Yeah, we hear there's going to be a martial artist and marine here." Sam raised an eyebrow and scoffed, there was no chance in hell a marine would take up pornography. "Since he's likely to be pretty strong, we want to try and talk him into shooting a video with us." Daisy swept her bangs out of her face and chuckled. "I mean come on. It's the chance of a lifetime and he wouldn't have to do it again, who would turn down two beautiful porn stars for a shoot?"

"I can think of several." She needed to find this man and warn him away. She knew the other person they were looking for, so she'd be able to guard her. "A military man isn't going to be so willing to shoot a sex video that is going to be put online for the entire world to see."

Lexy leaned forward and gently tapped her cheek. "Whatever you say, Sammy." The girl smirked into her eyes and leaned back. Sam's stomach twisted further as the duo began walking away.

Trina and Cat walked up to her, looking at the figures. "What was that all about?" Trina asked nervously. "Who were they?"

"Just stay close to me, Trina. If you run into those two, don't talk to them, whatever you do." She turned to face the girl and looked up and down her body. "And as a friend, can I suggest something?"

"Sure…"

"Put on a better outfit. Think about who you're going to be around tonight, people like your sister's friends." Trina's eyebrows shot up and Cat nodded. Even while Beck, Andre, Robbie, and any other guy in the place might stop to ogle her, it made it quite easy for both Lexy and Daisy to suspect that Trina may be the person they were after.

"Okay, fine! I'll put something more decent on. Do you have anything?"

"I have something," Cat chimed, "Some of the clothes I had to take to the cleaners the other day are still in the back of the car. Our washer and dryer broke down. I've got some sweaters and pants I think you'd like."

"Sounds good. Take me there." Cat took Trina by the wrist and pulled her to the car. Sam took a few steps after them, then stopped to look over her shoulder. She could feel a heavy sensation rising in her, followed by a flicker of desire to follow the two women. No, she was not free of temptation, even once out of the life it was something that would always remain there to try and pull someone back in.

* * *

The past does tend to be harsh on people who would like to forget. Well, Sam will be sure to figure a way to keep those girls from finding the two they're after, and at least one is already secure.


	13. Counselor's Sense of Urgency

Red Light Duex

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 13 (Counselor's Sense of Urgency)

"Sam I'm curious." The girls were standing outside the bathroom, waiting for Trina to get changed into the new outfit she chose. Sam had her arms crossed and was surveying the area for the two porn stars scouring the location. "You were into internet pornography, what's the difference between that and prostitution?"

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Not much. They're essentially the same thing, selling body for money. Porn stars just think of themselves as better, cleaner, and healthier than prostitutes. They're really not, and in some cases they can be trashier than prostitutes themselves." Cat appeared greatly confused, so Sam decided to elaborate. "A prostitute will usually, much like a call girl or private escort, only work with one or two people. They can also pick and choose who they get to have sex with while porn stars are given an actor and told that person is who they must have sex with. As for porn stars, there are those who will have sex with large groups. I once knew a girl that had sex with an entire team of men."

Cat's face went sour and she quickly shook her head. "I don't know how you did it, I can't stand the thought of all those guys…on or in me." The girl shivered and Sam smiled slightly.

"Well I personally didn't have group sex when I worked. I get what you're saying though, it gets pretty smelly and it doesn't feel good when it's all over. I can't count the times that I'd have sex, feel great, then afterwards just…" She paused and tensed her muscles. "I'd wind up crying in the shower, thinking to myself 'is this all I can amount to? All anyone's ever going to think of me, a sex object?' It wasn't pretty."

"Those two girls you were talking to. They were porn stars weren't they?" She jerked her head back and shot a glance at Cat. "I'm just wondering because they looked so mean, and you looked defensive."

"Yeah Cat…I knew them, but briefly. Not all actors in the industry are like them, though. Some are very nice people. The one woman there that I was talking to, the Latina, she went into the industry to help her mother pay for cancer treatment. So some do have noble reasons and just can't get out of the life later."

"Why is it so hard?"

"The sex industry is dominated by horny men, Cat. All they care about is fucking the next hot thing they can stick their sex organ into. Maybe I should say the porn industry, at least with prostitution men and women aren't just looking for women to degrade they just want sex. In many ways, prostitution is somewhat safer and cleaner than porn."

The door swung open, starting the girls. Trina stepped out, wearing a purple fleece sweater and knee length jeans rolled up at the bottom. "I'm done," she huffed. Trina stopped for a moment and met Sam's gaze. She frowned and her eyes flickered to Cat and back. "Hey Sam, before opening the door, I heard you talking…"

Her heart sank for the moment and she gave a sad smile to Trina. "Yes?"

"Porn stars think themselves better than other people?"

"A lot of them do, but many times it's just a mental disorder. Sometimes narcissism, some it's bipolar disorder…but yeah, there are those that think themselves better than anyone else, and that includes both prostitutes and strippers."

Trina furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the right. "Even though they're essentially prostitutes themselves." The girl scoffed and turned away. "Strange they should be like that."

"Sometimes it's just something they act like in order to deflect or justify the things they do behind a camera. No one person is the same though."

"Whatever. We probably should get in so we can at least show my sister I was here. I grabbed a list of the people performing-Tori's friends formed a band." Trina rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Just for this show. Apparently Mr. Sikowitz had to find somebody to perform vocals with them. I pity the guy that got suckered into that."

"Well, that should at least be entertaining to see."

Cat grabbed the flyer and her eyebrows rose. "Oh I remember Robbie talking about this! They wanted a male vocalist but couldn't find anyone to make a fourth person." Trina crossed her arms and Cat lowered the paper. "Robbie said the man Mr. Sikowitz found wasn't a singer but went along with it because the guys were talking about you and Tori as their friends."

"I wonder why the guy would be interested in my sister, or me, but then many men are interested in my sister. Why I'd be thrown into that pot, I'm not sure."

"I guess we'll see. If he knows one of you two, he could be using the boys to try and talk to you."

"Anything's possible," Sam remarked.

Once in the auditorium, they took their seats at the end of the fifth row from the stage. Several people performed various talents, ranging from monologues to singing.

Of course they walked in late, so it had been towards the end of the national anthem being performed by a group of military personnel and conducted by a marine. The man's back was to them. "I don't know what it is," Trina whispered, "But that marine looked familiar. Wished we got seated in time to have seen his face."

"Maybe he's in another act," Cat suggested, "I think Robbie said the guy Sikowitz chose was a marine that he knew." Trina's brow furrowed and her shoulders rose. Sam would be sure to keep an eye out for the man regardless, but was now piqued by the possibility that the man could have a connection with Trina. If any existed, it could be good, depending on the connection. "Do you know any marines, Trina?"

Trina laughed nervously and shook her head. "Not at all. At least, none on a personal and friendly basis."

"I bet you'd enjoy dating a military guy," Sam replied with a laugh. "My fiancé is in the army, I think I told you. You know, military men make the best lovers." Trina's cheeks turned red and she shook her head quickly.

"Military men…maybe. There was a guy, that one I mentioned to you before, who said he was learning martial arts combat skills at camp for when he joined the military. I don't know if he ever did or not." Trina's nose crinkled and she quickly turned her head towards Sam. "I've heard officers aren't always sent overseas like enlisted, is that true?"

"True? Eh, it varies with need, actually." Sam couldn't say it was true because there were times when officers would go overseas in a conflict, but it wasn't as often. Then it also depended on the career track. "Usually it depends more on the career track, a person trained to be a doctor or an engineer might go overseas more than somebody who is becoming a teacher or, like me, counselor."

"Oh." Trina crossed her arms and looked back to the stage. "That's good."

"Why do you ask, Trina?" Maybe it had to do with the man she met at camp. Part of Sam wished that she could find this guy, but another part of her was well aware she wouldn't know who or where the man was, and Trina would likely not want her going so far. This was a man that clearly had been a love of hers, and real love was at least one thing she hoped for Trina to discover. "Is it about that guy at your camp?"

She saw Cat glance over, interested as well in the conversation. Trina's lips pressed together and her shoulders slumped while her eyes dipped down. "I said I don't want to talk about him." Trina inhaled sharply and clenched her eyes shut. "But yes. I was just wondering. He was a couple of years older than me and had in mind to go through college first then hopefully the marines…I imagine he would go into officer academy like he said and become one.

"So you've never tried to find him?" She was going to stop talking about the man out of respect for Trina, but she did want to know why neither side ever made contact.

"I've lost his information and never quite told him mine. Doubt I'll ever see the guy again, and if I did, well…" Trina's eyes darted to Cat and she hesitated. Sam understood what she wanted to say, she could see the fear and pain on the girl's face.

"Cat knows about my past, so I will say this. My fiancé, Derek, I was terrified of going to him because of the things that I'd done. Terrified he would turn me away or think that I only wanted sex." Trina pursed her lips and Sam slowly closed her eyes. Her chest started to tighten and her body grew hot with the memories returning to her mind. "Yes that was the extent of what I thought relationships were all about for a time, but I was able to learn otherwise."

"I guess he didn't just want sex from you."

"No, he wanted a real relationship. For a while, I was afraid I couldn't give that to him." Trina's eyebrows curled inwards and she nodded slowly as an understanding gaze drifted onto her. "He wanted love from someone that didn't know what love was, I had to learn it. To see it firsthand. I saw from my friends, Valerie and Jonah what love was all about, and I tried to emulate them."

Sam's heart lifted joyously as she saw a spark of curiosity in Trina's eyes. Behind the girl, Cat was listening and watching with a soft smile. Sam lifted her hand to her chest and breathed in slowly. "When I did, it felt good. It felt good to cuddle by the fireplace and talk for hours, it felt good to laugh over a meal while going out on a date, or walking through the botanical gardens…it was amazing. Then the true love, that comes after a while. It's a feeling that when you experience it, you'll know it, even if you've never felt it before you'll know something's up."

"When did you know you were truly in love with Derek?"

Sam chuckled softly and looked back on a fond memory. "It's funny, but I think the moment I knew I was in love with him…he was trying to finish a crossword puzzle and every pen he tried to use was dry, so he wound up using a pencil-the led broke and he ran through the house trying to find a pencil sharpener. I was laughing the entire time. I had a pen in my purse, so I gave it to him." Trina chuckled and tore her gaze away, smiling at the performer on the stage. "He ended up staring at that pen for a full minute. The look on his face had to be the most adorable reaction of flustered confusion and relief that I'd ever seen from him. I think from that moment on I knew the way I felt for him, I couldn't feel for anyone else."

"It does sound nice." Trina crossed her leg over and shook her head slowly. "I don't have anyone to emulate like that. Mom and Dad always bicker, so I'm fairly certain they hate each other. The only other couple I know are Beck and Jade." Trina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes. "But they've split and gotten back together so many times it's startling. Not to mention neither of them like me, which I don't care about because I don't care much for them either."

"That is understandable."

"Hey guys, Tori's coming up!" Cat announced. Music began to play and Sam furrowed her brow at the familiar song. She looked up to the stage where Tori was standing before a microphone, her hair was done in curls and she was wearing a sparkling red dress. She had purple mascara and deep violet lipstick. Her nails were painted to match her lips.

She grabbed the microphone and closed her eyes, singing her rendition of _Roxanne_ by The Police. "This song?" Sam muttered to herself and looked over to Trina. The girl was watching with high brows and half a smile.

Perhaps this was the reason Tori wanted Trina there, aside from simple prevention of Trina walking the streets tonight. "She's actually doing this song justice," Trina stated. The next song she sang was _Family Portrait_, by Pink. Another song that was a clear dedication to someone, at least in Sam's mind. While Roxanne seemed to be for Trina, Family Portrait was clear to the Vega clan.

The mascara started running from Tori's eyes, her fingers flexed and her voice heightened at the peak of the song. Sam's heart tightened and she took a slow breath, wishing to know how she could possibly help the girl out. Unfortunately, it once again fell to the people in that family would want to have help.

Beside her, Trina was tearing up as well. "I need a moment," Trina wiped her eyes and stood up from the chair. "Sam, stay here and let me know what happens, okay? Cat…come with?" Sam was shocked to hear that, but figured it had to do with whatever the girls were talking about earlier while she was dealing with Lexy and Daisy.

Cat agreed and followed Trina off to the restroom. Sam remained to watch the next act. Four men walked onto the stage. Beck, Andre, Robbie, and the Marine officer that conducted the military band.

Two seats in front of her were Lexy and Daisy, she narrowed her eyes on them when she saw them glance at each other with full smiles and point towards the marine.

This man was in full uniform, held his cap at his chest, and had short shaggy brown hair. His soft brown eyes bore out across the audience and his mouth was turned up in a polite smile. "Hi, my uncle got me to sing with these guys. I'm going to do the best I can, but I should warn you, I'm not a good singer."

Sam folded her arms and leaned back, chuckling to herself as the man took the microphone in one hand. "Anyway, my name is Jason. Today we're going to be singing our rendition of an old classic: _Have You Seen Her_, by the Chi-lites. The guys agreed to this song since I agreed to sing with them. It's seriously one of the few songs I can actually sing well." He smirked while the others shrugged. "Okay, let's begin."

Beck, Andre and Robbie harmonized while Jason started the spoken process of the song. There was a look of sorrow in his eyes that seemed to match the mournful tune in his voice.

When they reached the chorus, the boys joined with Jason in the singing. It was much like a barbershop quartet, and it was a nice change of pace for Sam to relax to. Her body relaxed as she found herself tapping her foot along with the snaps of their fingers.

When she looked at the doorway to see if Trina and Cat were coming back, she spotted them standing there. They were watching the group with a focused gaze. Trina's lips were parted slightly and her face bore no emotion that Sam could read. Cat looked as if she recognized the soldier. It would be something she'd consider asking the redhead.

As the song came to a close, she could see Lexy and Daisy rise up from their seats. Her heart stopped as a sense of danger filled the air.

One thing was certain, if Cat or both girls had any knowledge of this soldier, then it expedited the urgency to keep those girls away from that man. Surely the Marine could handle himself enough to ignore them, but the two were not the type to take 'no' well.

Now was the time to start prioritizing, however. She wanted to find Tori and see how she was doing since it was clear through her shaky tone that she was breaking down halfway through her performance. She wanted to talk to Trina and see if she was okay as well, then she was curious if and how Cat might recognize the soldier, and then there was the evident assumption of danger.

Whatever the case, she did want to get the two women away from this school above all else. Nobody should have to be tempted by them.

* * *

Okay, your thoughts.


End file.
